Ahead of his new rather intriguing and intense EP, Late Afternoon In The Meadow (1887), and his headline show at The Ulster Hall, Belfast on December 23rd, with support from Lemoncello, Belfast songwriter Joshua Burnside presents the brilliant title track from his EP.
The experimental indie-folk gem is set in the labyrinth neighborhoods of Belfast, where the protagonist is torn between a mountain and a motorway (the Westlink). A grey, sturdy concrete structure plays the main stage in the life of those who are struggling with mental health and bleak economic landscapes.
Late Afternoon In The Meadow (1887) paints a bleak but also warmer picture of the city, full of hope for future possibilities. Burnside’s trademark penchant for looping found sounds, ancient recordings, and experimental production converge with his Irish roots to form an experimental folk track that is both beautiful and unsettling.
Burnside reveals: “Belfast was redesigned for military, social and economic reasons during the late end of the century. It was rebuilt to suit a car-driving suburban middle class, which is why the center is mostly encircled by car parks, empty buildings, empty land, and motorways twisting and rising above or below you. It is sadly apt then, that people wishing to take their own life, often choose the Westlink as the place to do it, jumping from the bridges that cross it. This song is about someone at the end of their tether. And if you are feeling this way, then I dedicate this song to you.
I wrote this one after returning from the south of France. I’m normally glad to be home, but it was a particularly grey and blustery day. On days like this, the city can feel like a very bleak place, and so I wrote a very bleak song. But there is hope in it too, hope for a kinder society, a life that is softer on the soul. Belfast seldom resembles a French impressionist painting, but it is my home and it has its own beauty.”
