Spencer Burton has detailed a new solo album. The songwriter and former Attack in Black player will share North Wind on January 26 via Dine Alone Records.
Following 2021's Coyote, the 10-song North Wind was written largely in a small off-grid cabin in Northern Ontario, where a previously uninspired Burton decamped to reconnect with nature in isolation.
"I always felt this need for importance, this need to be poetic. It came, but it felt mandatory at times. I struggled with that," Burton shares of the songcraft in a release. "But then I found beauty in the simple things. A bird's song. A rustling gale. A ripple in the water. With the beauty of those simple things came importance and poetry in an unforced, natural way."
Burton's time in the environment brought him "a new sense of life and a new urgency for it." As he explains, "I had thought my songwriting days were over, but with the help of this little guitar and a strong want for expressing my gratitude towards the north, I found myself writing again. Almost every song on this coming album was written on this guitar and in the north itself. A beautiful breeze it breathes and with every breath a song. I'm thankful for these wild places. I hope they never leave us. I'll be here until the end of my days."
Burton then took the songs to Nashville, where he recorded with producer Andrija Tokic. He reflects, "It's really interesting what pleases the ear, musically, when isolated for a few weeks at a time. The only inspiration being yourself and the beauty of true untampered nature. It's a different atmosphere than what we're accustomed to. It really helped bring these songs to life."
Following the previously shared "Rolling On" and "Going Fishin'" is "Goodbye," which you can hear a solo acoustic take on below alongside the other aforementioned album cuts.
As Burton explains, North Wind's closing track is a song about parenthood, sharing, "No matter how hard we try to do good in this world, we hope that the ones we raise will do an even better job. 'Goodbye' is about just that. Growing older and watching our kids grow up to be better versions of ourselves. It's a song about passing the torch and holding that torch even higher. Ultimately, it's a song about love. This song was recorded many ways but in the end it felt necessary to strip it down to its raw beginnings. Live and alone."
Burton has also debuted his first book, The Mountain Man, based on the song from his popular 2019 children's record of the same title. Illustrated by his sister, Jillian Burton, the paperback is now available to purchase and includes a QR code allowing families can read and sing along together.
Pre-order North Wind.
North Wind:
1. End of My Days
2. Coyote
3. Farm Life
4. Going Fishin'
5. Rolling On
6. Poetry of Pines
7. Dandelion
8. North Ontario
9. North Wind
10. Goodbye
Following 2021's Coyote, the 10-song North Wind was written largely in a small off-grid cabin in Northern Ontario, where a previously uninspired Burton decamped to reconnect with nature in isolation.
"I always felt this need for importance, this need to be poetic. It came, but it felt mandatory at times. I struggled with that," Burton shares of the songcraft in a release. "But then I found beauty in the simple things. A bird's song. A rustling gale. A ripple in the water. With the beauty of those simple things came importance and poetry in an unforced, natural way."
Burton's time in the environment brought him "a new sense of life and a new urgency for it." As he explains, "I had thought my songwriting days were over, but with the help of this little guitar and a strong want for expressing my gratitude towards the north, I found myself writing again. Almost every song on this coming album was written on this guitar and in the north itself. A beautiful breeze it breathes and with every breath a song. I'm thankful for these wild places. I hope they never leave us. I'll be here until the end of my days."
Burton then took the songs to Nashville, where he recorded with producer Andrija Tokic. He reflects, "It's really interesting what pleases the ear, musically, when isolated for a few weeks at a time. The only inspiration being yourself and the beauty of true untampered nature. It's a different atmosphere than what we're accustomed to. It really helped bring these songs to life."
Following the previously shared "Rolling On" and "Going Fishin'" is "Goodbye," which you can hear a solo acoustic take on below alongside the other aforementioned album cuts.
As Burton explains, North Wind's closing track is a song about parenthood, sharing, "No matter how hard we try to do good in this world, we hope that the ones we raise will do an even better job. 'Goodbye' is about just that. Growing older and watching our kids grow up to be better versions of ourselves. It's a song about passing the torch and holding that torch even higher. Ultimately, it's a song about love. This song was recorded many ways but in the end it felt necessary to strip it down to its raw beginnings. Live and alone."
Burton has also debuted his first book, The Mountain Man, based on the song from his popular 2019 children's record of the same title. Illustrated by his sister, Jillian Burton, the paperback is now available to purchase and includes a QR code allowing families can read and sing along together.
Pre-order North Wind.
North Wind:
1. End of My Days
2. Coyote
3. Farm Life
4. Going Fishin'
5. Rolling On
6. Poetry of Pines
7. Dandelion
8. North Ontario
9. North Wind
10. Goodbye
