Welcome to the Boolin Tunes Staff Spotlight, a special segment on the site in which we dive deep into a classic or simply personally beloved album to shine a light on releases that we feel deserve a second glance.
Children’s television show host Steve Burns left the hit Blue’s Clues in 2002. Soon afterwards, rumors swirled of death by misadventure, drug overdose, or car crash. However, the truth as Burns tells it is much more mundane: “It was simply time to go… I was losing my hair,”
Though he didn’t explicitly leave to become a musician, he did send demos to longtime producer of The Flaming Lips Dave Fridmann. Consequently, with band members Steven Drozd and Michael Ivins, Burns released the genre-defying Songs for Dustmites in 2003. While wearing clear The Flaming Lips influence on its sleeve, the album carves out a lane of its own.
As one of those children that grew up watching Blue’s Clues, I was taken aback by the strength of the vocals, surprised by how Burns could transition from lead of a show to convincing frontman. Accurately described by Pitchfork as a collection of “endlessly listenable pop songs”, Songs for Dustmites stands out with understated grace, full of earworms and fleshed-out progressions within songs.
Opener “Mighty Little Man” sets the stage:
Nobody else is stronger than I am
Yesterday I moved a mountain
I bet I could be your hero
I am a Mighty Little Man
From the beginning, the “superhero” theme appears throughout the album, ranging in mood from triumphant to melancholy to all-out yearning. It serves to establish the “other” Steve Burns, separate from that some listeners like myself may have grown up watching.
Above all else, the strength of the album comes in the diversity of sound and mood. For instance, “Maintain”, a track driven by a looping guitar lick and loud choruses, serves as the flagship for the more energetic side:
And I’m standing on the corner
Gonna jump out of my skin
Gonna float above the buildings
See which one you’re in
On the other hand, the album also slows things down with a suite of more vulnerable, slower tracks. Tracks like the orchestral “Stick Around“, the acoustic meditation in “>1″, and the hesitant piano chords of the title track help to breathe life through an emphasis on dynamics. One shining example is the album’s closer, featuring a stunning build to wrap up the album as its most memorable track.
Even though your life was wasted
Doesn’t mean that I should save it
I’ll sit at home, I’ll watch TV
Overall, Steve Burns managed to surprise by not only showing off a diverse environment throughout, but also through Songs For Dustmites excellent quality and staying power. Eighteen years after its release, it still sounds fresh, like the debut of a young indie artist that would soon be recognized as a heavy-hitter. Of course, that’s not the case with Burns, as he only released one more album of this style. Even so, this album not only smashes expectations, but also provides infinite replayability, and is quite worthy of your time and attention.
Otherwise, I hope to see you next Sunday for another retrospective from our team.