Reed Burnam - Funeral Selfie TDRCO-224
'Funeral Selfie' paints a hazy picture of the currently-Tulsa-dwelling Texan Reed Burnam. Drifting through stations, states (mental and physical), and styles, the prolific musician has a way of sliding through identities, less a chameleon but more a spectre, a trail of sonic impressions flowing along with him. The title track lays out a lackadaisical semi-ironic morbid modern truth about the oh so special fleeting moments in life against a proto-LCD groove with hints of something a bit more worldly.
But hey, let's start at the beginning.
Kicking off this massive 20-track tome is a bit of a Trojan horse - a gentle, ear tickling take on the bluegrass tune "All The Good Times Are Past And Gone", Burnam is holding our hands as we enter his eclectic house of sound before handing us a cup of coffee in the second track, which takes a distinct turn towards catchy, plucky indie rock and cleverly constructed ambiance, it still feels like a setup, and it is. But hey, we're caffeinated now! Deeper we find plenty of blues, cozy and smooth moderate rock, experimental story songs, and several exploratory excavations of the soul. The thing is, this isn't wanton goofing around - as evident by his past TDRCo albums, 'Another Switchback' and 'Universal Axis', as well as a treasure trove of self-released albums available on Bandcamp, Burnam has an inexhaustible toolbox full of musical skill and experience, pulling from here and there within any moment of a song. Influences are never lost - though rarely obvious - but Daniel Johnston's marks are bright and present (in fact, Reed once played bass live in his band for a gig in Austin in 2016) - a lush cover of "Spirit World Rising" revealing once again that "the devil has Texas."
The back half of the record reveals more grooves and stories and subtle embellishments - making light work of heavy times and offering several opportunities to sail away through the fog like Callahan, across the purple mountaintops like Berman, get lost in the sound, and drift, drift, drift away as rain falls and night arrives - the haze is gone, the bugs are out, the darkness falls. It's a fine farewell, farewell. (Bryan Bruchman, July 2026)
Release Date: July 24, 2026
Available as:
-Cassette (Pro Real-Time HiFi duplicated black marble cassettes - with hand-made, hand-numbered art by Reed Burnam - Limited Edition of 34)
-CD (in "Wallet Lite" packaging, manufactured by Atomic Disc)
-Digital Download