Sam Burton has come full circle since his 2020 debut, I Can Go With You – leaving his adopted dwelling city of Los Angeles, first for his Utah roots after which some itinerant California wandering, earlier than discovering himself settled in LA once more. His travels knowledgeable the songs he wrote whereas he was away, not least the hypnotic I Don’t Blame You’s opening (“Nicely, I really feel like a sail after I’m trying round/ For some wind to maneuver me”) and the self-explanatory A Place to Keep. On his return, he attached with producer Jonathan Wilson for this s Asond album.
As with Wilson’s work for Father John Misty and Angel Olsen – and, certainly, his personal solo oeuvre – there’s a timeless lushness to the sound of Pricey Departed. It’s an album that attracts closely on the affect of Sixties and 70s singer-songwriters – assume Harry Nilsson, Glen Campbell and Jackson Browne. Songs develop at a leisurely tempo, subtly deployed strings and piano very a lot foregrounding Burton’s mild, ruminative, barely mournful vocals. There’s a low-key attraction all through – most notably on Maria – bshoulder these songs incessantly smoulder, they hardly ever ignite.