As Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon has demonstrated so impressively, there’s still space on the musical landscape for an artist with simple songs and a bloody big heart. With his broad Glaswegian burr and a knack for sumptuous moments of Gallic poetry, Brendan Campbell fits neatly into this category; a young folk musician with the exceptional ability to touch people through song.

Burgers and Murders is Campbell’s debut record and it’s an impressive affair. Raised on the wrong side of Glasgow as the youngest of six kids, Campbell found himself immersed in Scotland’s provincial folk scene from an early age. This explains his flair for finger-picking, but doesn’t quite clarify how he discovered his gift for the occasional – and unashamed – pop melody. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

First and foremost this is an album of simple, graceful, contemporary folk. Album opener “Venice” is a great scene setter; a poignant love letter to Glasgow that finds Campbell speaking of the need for positivity amongst his peers with a lyrical maturity far beyond his tender years. Beyond that we get consistent insights into the dark side of Glaswegian life. Yet these tales are rarely melancholic; instead they’re told with a thoughtful detachment that somehow showers each song in a sense of real optimism.

His experiences on the Gallic folk circuit have obviously taught him well. Each of Campbell’s songs are intricate short stories that build towards a strong conclusion; you sense he’d like to be regarded a story-teller above anything else. Such strong narrative is the lifeblood of any British folk scene and Campbell uses it to his advantage so well.

But Campbell is far from being a one trick folk pony. Occasionally he sets aside his lone acoustic and embraces the mantle of upbeat pop with adolescent exuberance. “The Pirate Song” for example sounds like a big, brash radio hit that echoes – somewhat strangely – with similarities to a certain piano-tinkling Elton.

As a body of work Burgers & Murders is a sublime example of the timeless lure of British folk. Intelligent, confident and raw, it will rightly establish Campbell as one of the UK’s most treasured new songwriters. A fitting accomplice then for a certain Stateside Justin Vernon.

[review by guest contributor Matt Brown]

Brendan Campbell “Burgers and Murders” (mp3)

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