strawberry burns - pitch purple

Strawberry Burns

Pitch Purple
self-released; 2012

3.8 out of 5

Nebraska is known for two things: corn and corn. The mascot for the University of Nebraska is called Herbie the Husker. I worked with a man from Nebraska. He was cool. So are these four gentlemen who call Lincoln their home. Strawberry Burns (you can't go wrong with a name like that) are fairly prolific, releasing four albums–Pitch Purple, the subject of this music review being their most recent–and only–EP in the last decade. I don't think the man from Nebraska knew these guys, either personally or musically, but thanks to the magic of the Internet, you can. You may even be the man from Nebraska!

The music is pretty enjoyable. It's sort of folksy, nerdy, and cool at the same time. Strawberry Burns manages the difficulty of cultivating an album with the same flavor throughout but without any song sounding the same. "Long Gone,” a wistful pop song with fractured pop structure gives way to "Maybe, Maybe,” which shows that the band can get quite spacey. This sort of variety, when in the hands of able musicians, almost guarantees that no track can be seen as a weak track. This is one of the highest compliments any critic can pay as it implies that the object of scrutiny is not boring. And Pitch Purple is not boring. The album shifts from mellow, to happy, to melancholy in between ranges of other emotions. As a final note, the band does make ample use of psychedelic effects, making this album cross into psychedelic pop and rock territory.

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