Joshua Burnside Teeth of Time
Joshua Burnside's Teeth of Time opens with a quiet insistence that sets the emotional stakes: the record melds folk intimacy with electronic textures to probe mortality, fatherhood and the politics of place. KLOF Mag's review singles out “Teeth of Time/Mountain” and “Ghost of the Bloomfield Road” as the album's clearest statements, praising the opener's whispered spoken-word center and the latter's crepuscular, uneasy folk textures. Critics note how contrasts and juxtapositions - urban versus wild, sorrow versus hard-won happiness - give the songs their tension and reward repeated listens.
Across one professional review, the critical consensus registers positively, with an 80/100 score that reflects measured admiration rather than unqualified praise. Reviewers consistently point to standout tracks beyond the opener, including “Nothing Completed”, “In the Silence Of” and “The Good Life”, as moments where Burnside's layered arrangements and thematic focus cohere. The collection's experimentation - where electronic pulses and acoustic fragility collide - positions Teeth of Time as a thoughtful, textured step forward in his catalog.
While the appraisal is largely favorable, the reviewer's tone remains circumspect, suggesting the album's rewards are cumulative rather than immediately obvious. For readers wondering if Teeth of Time is worth listening to, the critical consensus suggests it is a richly composed, thematically ambitious work that yields its depth through contrasts and careful listening.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Ghost of the Bloomfield Road
1 mention
"lead single, Ghost of the Bloomfield Road, is perhaps the most explicit declaration of that hard-won happiness"— KLOF Mag
Teeth of Time/Mountain
1 mention
"On the album’s ambitious opener, Teeth of Time:Mountain, Burnside brings those whispers closer to the centre"— KLOF Mag
In the Silence Of
1 mention
"In the Silence Of crackles with electronic manipulation: it’s folk music of a kind, but cut up and pieced back together"— KLOF Mag
lead single, Ghost of the Bloomfield Road, is perhaps the most explicit declaration of that hard-won happiness
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Teeth of Time/Mountain
Up and Down
The Good Life
Sycamore Queen
Ghost of the Bloomfield Road
Climb the Tower
Marching Round The Ladies
In the Silence Of
Good For One Thing
Nothing Completed
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 1 critic who reviewed this album
KL
Critic's Take
In this review Thomas Blake writes with clear-eyed admiration for Joshua Burnside and his Teeth of Time, and he keeps returning to the album's best tracks - “Ghost of the Bloomfield Road” and “Teeth of Time/Mountain” - as exemplars of its emotional stakes. Blake praises “Ghost of the Bloomfield Road” for its uneasy, low-key folk textures and crepuscular ambience, and he highlights the opener “Teeth of Time/Mountain” for bringing whispered spoken word into the centre. The review locates much of the album's power in contrasts, from urban to wild and from sorrow to hard-won happiness, which makes the best songs feel both immediate and considered. Blake's tone is admiring but measured, insisting these tracks reveal Burnside's most rounded and layered work yet.
Key Points
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The best song, "Ghost of the Bloomfield Road", is the standout for its uneasy folk textures, poignant contrast between ghost and newborn, and crepuscular electronics.
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The album’s core strength is Blake's portrait of contrast - folk tradition versus experimentation, and sorrow versus hard-won happiness - making the work both immediate and deeply considered.