I could hear their individual contribution and talents.
Burnin’ is the newest single by Edinburgh band High Fade and follows in the footsteps of previous track ‘Healer’. It continues the chain of recent releases which have seen High Fade continuously stand out from other bands. Within these two latest songs, there are more rock influences than in 2022 single ‘Sharpen Up’. However, High Fade have mastered the ability to incorporate numerous musical styles into one track without it being overwhelming. With Burnin’, they continued this.
Like previous singles, this new one is a fantastic fusion of their signature style of funk as well as rock. Though there aren’t extensive lyrics, they do an incredible job with creating a story with the differences in tempo and sounds. The trio’s individual instrumental abilities make up for this, though. “Burnin’ Up” is repeated throughout the track with them altering between “can’t get enough” and “just can’t stop“. While singing, Harry Valentino, their frontman and guitarist, has a rasp in his voice that helps add to the rock edge of the track.
At about 2:20, the heavier/rock side can be heard with the build up of Valentino’s guitar playing. A chorus of the band repeating “Burnin’ Up” follows this. Throughout this portion, drumming from Calvin Davidson takes forefront. A guitar solo accompanies the vocals after this to close off the song.
What I loved about hearing this track for the first time was that I could hear every individual instrument very clearly. Sometimes when you listen to a track, all you hear is guitar or vocals but with this track, this doesn’t happen. I could hear the individual contribution and talents of not only Valentino and Davidson but also their bassist Oliver Sentance. Merging together genres as seamlessly as High Fade do allows for this because different styles feature different instruments more prominently.
Burnin’ only adds to the impressive reputation that High Fade have built for themselves. They are so musically unique from other artists, which is what makes their tracks successful. They aren’t afraid to try different concepts and experiment, and this is just a prime example of this paying off once again.