Ears Wide Open: Sam Burton

Kevin Bronson on May 16th, 2023

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Sam Burton’s new music harks to the pop’s yesteryear, when a song wasn’t finished until the orchestra had been thanked and paid. Burton, the L.A.-based Utah native, earned accolades for his 2020 album, “I Can Go With You,” and signed to Partisan Records to release the follow-up, “Dear Departed,” produced by Jonathan Wilson and arriving July 14.

Burton’s voice has a singular purity (the likes of Bobby Goldsboro, Glen Campbell, Harry Nilsson and John Denver come to mind) that makes lead single “Long Way Around” chillingly sublime.

“‘Long Way Around’ was the first song I wrote in this new batch of songs, and I feel like it helped set the tone for the album,” Burton says. “Jonathan and I ended up staying pretty true to the demo versions, but he added these subtle conga drums that were inspired by John Lennon’s ‘Walls and Bridges’ album. It’s a song about missed opportunities and the passing of time. The noble failure.”

||| Stream: “Long Way Around” and “Maria”