“As my Latin-speaking friends and my lawyer would say, ‘Res ipsa loquitor.’”
That’s how songwriter Tom Siering describes Massachusetts-based The Burning North’s new song “Older”, which SWT is excited to exclusively premiere for you today.
The Latin phrase simply means “the thing speaks for itself” and we can’t agree more about how fitting it is on the song and band’s special concoction of rock, pop, country and blues.
One element that makes it stand out is guitarist Thomas Juliano’s playing.
“Thomas’ (Juliano) playing knocks the shingles off the roof on this tune,” says Siering. “It’s Tom Morello meets Warren Haynes, man! His emotive guitar work marries perfectly with Wendy’s (Drown) vocals. You feel it all; the wisdom and the pain of aging on ‘Older’.”
Speaking of singer Wendy Drown, her commanding presence on vocals on the song really adds to the energy and personality of the song. Drown is a veteran musician in the New England scene. Since the ‘90’s, Wendy has worked steadily as a jingle and session vocalist and can be heard on numerous commercials for national and local businesses.
The Burning North is the latest band she’s sung for. She also performs with Search Party, an established Boston private party band, as well as Vital & Drown, a Boston area duo with longtime friend and guitarist Chris Vital.
“When we brought Wendy (Drown) on board, you could hear her instant emotional attachment to the material,” says Siering. “She really owned it. You felt like she had lived it. The record shines because of that.”
“Older” is great sample of what to expect out of The Burning North’s self-titled debut album, which will be released on November 14th.
“The material for The Burning North was originally conceived as a bit of a concept album,” says Siering. “This album has diverse musical styles, and it explores the expanse of human emotion but hopefully it ultimately feels like a coherent story, held together with gripping urgency and Marco [Giovino]’s impeccable production.”
The seeds for The Burning North were planted a dozen years ago when Siering met Giovino through Nashville singer Elizabeth Cook. In addition to Cook, Giovino has, in Siering words, played drums for just about everyone, including Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Kris Kristofferson, and Tom Jones. They decided to work together and quickly learned they had musical chemistry.
“We worked together on four records with Rebecca De La Torre, a couple for The 81s with Tim Carroll, and the After the News album with my friend Addi McDaniel,” says Siering.
They also released 2018 Elmore James tribute album Strange Angels – In Flight with Elmore James, which featured tracks by Jamey Johnson, Tom Jones, Warren Haynes, Billy Gibbons, Bettye LaVette, Rodney Crowell, Keb’ Mo’ and others. According to Siering, it “garnered significant praise for its artistry, authenticity and assemble of players. Also, Marco’s mono production received particularly glowing notice.”
With The Burning North’s debut, Giovino and Siering were able to further showcase their musical growth. The group also features Chris Rival (Electric Guitar, Slide Guitar), Andy Santospago (Electric Guitar, Pedal Steel, Acoustic Guitar), Neal Pawley (Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Baritone Guitar), and Kelly Knapp (Background Vocals).
They recorded the album at Dagotown Recorders in Jefferson, MA. It was engineered by Sam Margolis, who also mixed it at Riverview Sound in Waltham, MA. Tom Waltz mastered it at Waltz Audio.
We’re excited to hear the rest of the album and see where the group goes from here!
Below are some additional credits:
Marco Giovino (Drums, Percussion, Keyboards on “Left Him Yet”)
Sam Margolis ~ Background Vocals on “Best Damn Player”
Winifred Siering ~ Vocals on “Truck Driving Man”
Bruce Bears ~ Piano, Electric Piano & Organ on: “The H Verses”; “Everything Into Nothing”; “Best Damn Player”; “Truck Driving Man”; “Gainesville 1 am”
Thomas Juliano ~ Electric Guitar, Slide Guitar, Acoustic Guitar on: “The H Verses”; “Everything Into Nothing”; “Best Damn Player”; “Gainesville 1 am”; “Facing The Hill”; “Older”
Katie Franich ~ Cello on “Facing The Hill”
You can follow The Burning North at the following links:
Their great website: TheBurningNorth.com/
Facebook: The Burning North on Facebook
Instagram: Instagram.com/theburningnorth
X: Twitter.com/TheBurningNorth
Joshua is co-founder of Scummy Water Tower. He’s freelanced for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites, including: Rolling Stone, The Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, Guitar World, MTV News, Grammy.com, Chicago Magazine, Milwaukee Magazine, MKE Lifestyle, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, A.V. Club, SPIN, Alternative Press, Under the Radar, Paste, PopMatters, American Songwriter, and Relix. You can email him at josh@scummywatertower.com.
