Chris DeLine

Sarasota, Florida’s Burden of a Day have spent the past four years defining its sound within the scream-o realm though there have been attempts to add a twist to that; the band has devoted much of its time performing in local churches and praise meetings. Though a deeper faith may be the stem at which the band has blossomed the core sounds reflect a highly disregarded trend that detracts somewhat from the overall understanding of the music on Pilots & Paper Planes.

Within the core of Christian music there seems to be a strange divide that sometimes separates the message from the music. Overly praise-based bands come off as preachy as opposed to insightful and emotional while another faction in Christian music records with little emphasis on content and is glorified through its labels. It is this differentiation in content that gives the music something unique; possibly a unique voice of understanding or an enlightening view into the inner teachings of one’s beliefs.

Burden of a Day doesn’t follow the content or praise-based approach, but rather enjoys a history of faith-based performances which could be viewed in a manner similar to what could be considered the MXPX approach; fine music, but there’s nothing overtly unique or distinctive about the lyrics. This wouldn’t matter so much if the band followed by recording music that set Burden of a Day apart from its colleagues in the scene, but that’s just simply not the case. It would be inappropriate to even consider questioning another’s faith, let along a band that has taken steps to establish itself along these lines, but without a substantial depth to the lyrics and a disregarded musical approach, the band loses momentum and ultimately becomes spiritless in the process.