Of Leaves And Thieves

By Robbie McCown

Tennessee native Clare Burson has quite a stellar and growing catalogue of music to boast; especially considering she’s only been professionally recording music and writing her own songs since the turn of the century.

Burson’s music is an evolving blend of acoustic folk, rock and introspective lyrics. Add just enough noises and scratches and it’s given an ever-so-subtle lo-fi twist.

Her first recording was a five-song EP titled Undone released in 2001 and recorded with famed producer T. Bone Burnett and singer-songwriter, Mark Collie. Two years later, Burson saw the release of her full-length debut, The In-Between, and soon after, began to receive notice from many independent magazines and opportunities to contribute songs to a couple of wide-release soundtracks.

Burson’s second EP, Idaho, arrived in 2005 and featured another batch of noteworthy songs. One such song, ‘Love Me In The Morning,’ is a wistful love song served up in an old-fashioned Americana style.

With her latest album, Thieves, Burson continues to sharpen her songwriting talents and has expanded artistically. The opening track, ‘Boat Of Leaves’, instantly creates a haunting mood, beautiful imagery and opens up the set wonderfully before a long fadeout makes way for the equally compelling title track.

Another stunner to be heard is the beautiful ‘Love Is Snow,’ which is available for download on her official site.

Iï¿½m gonna gather all the letters
That I wrote you from my bed
I’ll bury them at sundown
Pretend Iï¿½ve buried us instead
- Clare Burson

Despite perhaps an unnecessary (but rather interesting) cover of the late Lee Hazelwood’s ‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin’,’ Thieves is a strong, surprising and memorable album that will undoubtedly bring Burson one step closer to national acclaim.

Clare Burson is currently touring in support of Thieves. For a complete list of upcoming dates and shows, be sure to visit her official site.