First Listen: Joshua Burnside releases 'The Only Thing I Fear'

Following up his stunning single 'Whiskey Whiskey', Joshua Burnside is returning today to deliver another poignant and simple folk tune, and Hot Press is delighted to have the exclusive first listen.

The Belfast-born singer-songwriter has made a name for himself on tender, introspective offerings imbued with warmth, from his 2017 album Ephrata to last year's EP Wear Bluebells in Your Hat If You're Going That Way. 

'The Only Thing I Fear' expounds on the musical traits for which Burnside is so respected, and pairs it with the ghostly nostalgia of his songwriting.

"I wrote the line ‘I just can’t find peace in my soul’ when I was maybe 16 or 17, and that’s all the song was for a long time," Burnside says. "Just a little bit of honesty with myself I guess, bare and simple. The song eventually grew from that line, roots below, stem above, and the simple, universal feeling that something was wrong inside me, was the emotional starch and oil if you will, within that seed." The track's laconic, delicate phrasing makes the small moments where Burnside's vocal trips over an ornament unbelievably special.

Most of accompanying video to 'The Only Thing I Fear' was shot on Burnside's phone, and spliced with TV footage from the 90's, including a few shots of 9/11. "I feel like that coincided with the ending of my childhood," explains Burnside, "and maybe the ending of a sort of naive period in western history as well. I think we’re going through another ending, hopefully we’ll grow up a bit after all of this".

The track will be available on all streaming platforms Friday, but for now, you can watch the video below.