London-based folk duo Burr Island released their latest single, ‘Later’, on March 29th, 2024 via Left Foot Records, following their fifth single ‘Our Home’. Comprising best friends Tom England & Oskar Porter, the duo has garnered praise from industry heavyweights like Robert Plant and Noel Gallagher. Their first four releases amassed 250,000 streams across platforms, with their debut album slated for 2024. Recorded at Kundalini Studios in Devon with Steve Cradock, their singles gained traction on BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 2, BBC Introducing, and Radio X. They’ve toured as support for acts like Ocean Colour Scene, playing iconic venues such as Hammersmith Eventim Apollo & Barrowlands Ballroom and a sold-out show at Union Chapel supporting Paul Weller, along with two sell-out London headline gigs. Drawing inspiration from artists like Lennon/McCartney, Paul Simon, Crosby Stills & Nash, Nick Drake, The Beach Boys, and Cat Stevens, Burr Island has been likened to indie folk contemporaries like Fleet Foxes, Flyte, and Kings of Convenience.
‘Later’ is a tender composition overflowing with vivid imagery. Sung in ethereal harmony by the duo, its lyrics delicately delve into the poignant clarity that life’s end brings, contemplating the essence of our existence in this fleeting time. The gentle strumming of the guitar gracefully meanders through the song like a tranquil brook, while Jess Cox‘s strings—sweet, intricate, and emotive—immerse the tender track in profound emotion.
Burr Island shared: “‘Later, you will understand how truly good these times have been’ is faintly scrawled at the bottom corner of a large abstract piece of art hanging up in the building that Oskar used to live in. So faint, you could easily miss it. We’re glad Oskar didn’t, as those words unravelled into the song you hear today. ’Later’ is about being in the last moments of one’s life, when ‘twilight is paper thin’, and to look back at a life unlived.”
Oskar elaborated: “Around the same time I stumbled upon the hidden lyrics in the artwork, a friend of mine told me a personal story which I was incredibly struck by and that inspired us to write the rest of the song. When he was just eleven, his father had come home early from work, complaining of having chest pains. Hours later he had tragically died of a heart attack. What did he do in the last moments of his life? He started to confess. He confessed he had acted harshly and been cruel to people. I’ve often heard when one is at the end of their life, they can experience moments of true clarity, as if they are truly seeing for the first time. Hopefully this little song can be a reminder to us all to not wait until the moment of death to realise ‘how truly good these times have been’.”
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