There have been several timeless duets that leave a lasting mark. Whether it’s Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks, Americana darlings Buddy and Julie Miller or the late Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris, there is an intangible found in their duets that is mesmerizing. Now Sterling, Virginia-based musician Drew Gibson has created “Burning Horses,” a beautiful new single featuring Maddi Mae found on Gibson’s charming new album Burning Horses.
Gibson says the single was inspired by watching the recap of an episode of Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power and a rather startling, unnerving image. “It represents the heavy machine of industrialization,” Gibson says of the song’s genesis. “There was this scene on the Amazon Prime show, The Rings of Power. And in the scene, there was a horse on fire, running away. I was watching a breakdown of the episode on a YouTube channel and the commentator mentioned the burning horse, and how (author J.R.R.) Tolkien was against industrialization. It clicked with me. That’s where I got the idea for the album theme, the album title, and the title track. The irony of this is not lost on me.”
“Burning Horses,” written by Gibson, opens with accordion courtesy of Brian Simms before the rugged, rootsy gem takes center stage. Both Gibson and Mae sing the opening verse together, and it’s just magical, bringing to mind the iconic Petty/Nicks duet “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” Finding the groove early as Mae provides haunting backing vocals near the homestretch, bassist Kevin De Souza and drummer Ben Tufts are instantly in the proverbial pocket while pedal steel guitarist Dave Hadley accents “Burning Horses” perfectly. Gibson’s electric guitar and synth work is at times subtle but emerges when needed. While almost nothing could compare to the Parson/Harris classic “Love Hurts,” this song is certainly in the ballpark.
“Burning Horses” is the title track off Gibson’s fifth studio album that was four years in the making. Like most musicians, Gibson spent much of the pandemic years working on new material, which found its way onto Burning Horses. “I recorded a lot of the guitars, keyboards, synths, some bass, and pedal steel, at my home studio,” Gibson says. “It began that way because of Covid. Before, I would take a guitar solo here and there, but would mostly give the opportunity to my pedal steel player, Dave Hadley, or keyboardist, Brian Simms. This time around, I said to myself, ‘You know what? I need to do more. I can do more.’ So I did.”
Gibson also says the album’s creative process started deliberately in his basement studio. And while the world and daily life underwent massive restructurings, Gibson pined for simpler times. “Everything is now so connected, so tech-driven, and so hectic in a way,” he says. “I pretty much miss the simple days of biking through the woods, going to a record store, and having a more communal time with family. In some ways, I feel like I’m on a different planet, and I’m homesick for that more romantic time. That’s what this album is all about. It’s about a different time.”
Burning Horses, co-produced by Gibson and Marco Delmar (who also mixed and co-engineered the album) and released on Cragmont Records, features 10 songs, nine of them written by Gibson with “Gunslinger” penned by Gibson and Paul Curreri. Gibson’s guitar style at times recalls Mark Knopfler on the roots rock cut “What Good Friends We Were” and “From Our Front Porch,” which also brings to mind Ray LaMontagne.
In other moments, Gibson is just as sensational, especially on the intricate, Bruce Cockburn-ish finger picking on “How The Border Town Was Born” and “Low Country, High Wire,” the latter is another ballad Mae gives spine-tingling, goosebump-inducing greatness to. If that wasn’t enough, the closing cinematic instrumental “The Long Good Night: Part II” sounds like some mystical, elegant fusion of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and Daniel Lanois.
Burning Horses, which also includes bassist Jon Nazdin and drummer Eric Selby, was recorded at Sterling, Virginia’s Letterbox Studio, the Recording Arts in Arlington, Virginia and Ivakota Studios in Washington, D.C. Gibson, Delmar, Tufts and Ben Green served as co-engineers while Mike Monseur at Nashville’s Axis Audio mastered the record.
The studio album is Gibson’s fifth following his 2007 debut Letterbox, 2011’s The Southern Draw, 2015’s 1532 and 2019’s Shipbuilder. His critically acclaimed discography has been discussed in noted publications such as USA Today, No Depression and The Washington Post. He’s also performed at venues such as The Birchmere in Alexandria, Virgina.
Now with a new studio album and the lead single “Burning Horses,” Drew Gibson is set to offer up an exciting, elite level of roots rock and Americana to the masses. It’s a signature single from what is surely set to be a signature album.
