Artist Callum Burrows seems to have been around for a little bit, but with two prior EPs currently available on Spotifty it appears the young lad isn’t quite ready for a full length. Either that or he’s just too keen to release something (ANYTHING) that he feels the need to drop it every four songs he writes rather than save them up for a bigger reveal. Regardless, the British boy who fronts Saint Raymond solo feeds off tinges of fellow countrymen The 1975 and Little Comets to create a catchy and impressive little number in his latest EP, Ghosts, out through the UK’s Warner Music branch.
First up on the listing is the stunning Everything She Wants. An alt-pop track that steers clear of any striking originality whilst offering catchiness in spades. That might not seem like such a glaringly positive assessment, yet I find myself coming back to this track over and over throughout my work day to offer a little energy. As mentioned before, he’s a bit of a hybrid. He’s got a little of the accent from The 1975, with the crunchy guitar stream of The Royal Concept and the punchy vocal melodies of Little Comets. It’s a great lead track and certainly earns them points in my books.
Brighter Days goes a little bit holiday-like and doesn’t keep up to speed with the first track. It bops around in a confused manner; like if Jack Johnson decided to start an indie band. That said, after a few more listens it tends to come out on top and makes for a solid listen if you’re not paying too much attention. Ghosts is a glorious finisher. After a few tracks that don’t quite hit their peak performance, the lyrics “Darling, won’t you keep me?” almost feel like a plea from a vocalist who knows he has a lot more to offer.
On an album, you can afford a few misses among the hits. However, on an EP release there’s little room for mistakes and on the Ghosts EP there is too much of a ‘that’s good enough’ feel to it, but with an obvious indication that this guy has a lot of talent when it comes to writing pop songs.
Callum, my boy. Have patience and get it into a full length. I’ll say this. When Saint Raymond come back with their debut album, it’s going to be remembered.
*****3/5
