Leona Burkey joins the ranks of many artists whose projects have been drastically altered by the effects of the pandemic. Luckily, she also joins the ranks of those whose work has been painted with a unique brush for the very same reason. Sitting Tight is a folk-forward offering that treads far off territory so we don’t have to.
Burkey, based out of Halifax but rooted in Cape Breton, describes this album as “cracked down the middle by a pandemic”, but that type of language feels too harsh to describe what such a unique recording process has done for this album. Side A of the project began as an EP that was too fun to cut short, while Side B is the result of the global pandemic throwing a hitch in the recording process. Instead, Burkey collaborated with musical talents from Nova Scotia all the way to Nashville.
One of Burkey’s biggest collaborators on this album was A.J.H. Gillis, who produced and mixed the record. He also lends his voice to tracks like “Pigeon Hole”, the moody closer to the album penned by Gillis himself. Burkey and Gillis’s vocals complement each other well, particularly in the call and response that builds towards the end of the song.
A main takeaway upon first listen of this album is how versatile Burkey’s vocals are. She’s able to easily adapt her voice to whatever style of song she’s singing. Sometimes she effortlessly reaches shimmering heights, other times her delivery has a cheeky drawl or cadence. From the crunchy indie style found on “Life Love Time”, to the clear, celestial croon on her cover of The Poppy Family’s “Beyond the Clouds”.
It’s showcased a lot, particularly because of Burkey’s penchant for building fun environments in each and every song. In “Bullet to Berlin”, the warble of her vocals perfectly matches the warble of lap steel The track starts off slow and understated, but there are all these building, intricate layers that crescendo before dropping back down into a calm outro. Meanwhile, “Don’t Be Gone Too Long” has a fun, jaunty pace punctuated by rolling drums and vocals. Finally, “Fable” is airy and just plain cool.
Though each song is held together by a stroke from the same folk-influenced brush, Burkey has crafted the album in such a way that each song is a unique experience. Her worldly approach to songwriting comes through loud and clear on this record, a welcome comfort during a time when most of us are staying close to home.