artist The Burnitdowns

The seed of the Burnitdowns was planted years ago when Chris Payne, then singing for the Johnny Law, met Ty Trumbull and Matt Marshall who were playing in the same small town punk scene. It was there that they formed a mutual respect for punk rock and cut their teeth as performers. With a move to Toronto, Ty would be introduced to the brothers Bennett, Jesse and Sam, who also sported a small town background and a penchant for plaid. The Bennett’s soon came onboard to provide The Burnitdowns with their signature guitar and bass hooks.  While recording their second album ‘We’re not the things we’ve done’, they met engineer extraordinaire Andrew Noakowski.  Soon afterwards they asked him to play guitar.

 Together it quickly became apparent that, while the aggressive sounds of their youth were prevalent, the band had become somewhat nostalgic for the rural music they'd long since left behind. With the straightforward, country-tinged chickin' pickin' of hands and ears fed a steady diet of Hank Williams and Johnny Cash etching into the band's sound, The Burnitdowns have been able to scrape out a unique position in the vibrant Toronto music scene.

Exclaim!

The Burnitdowns
We’re Not the Things We’ve Done 
By Nicole Villeneuve

On their second full-length, Toronto, ON's the Burnitdowns continue to merge their spectacularly energetic presence with an increasingly complex craft that allows them to explore both quieter and rougher reaches of their acoustic punk framework. Like on 2007's The Ugly One, the classic country influence is strong ― obviously so on "Omemee Woods," but in a darker and subtler way on "Low and Behold" ― that is, until it explodes into their other calling card: reckless breakneck breakdowns, plied with hard Western twang and almost-surf chord progressions. We're Not the Things We've Done picks up a considerable amount of steam towards the end, starting with 40-second banjo party "Plaid Shirts Represent!" and firing straight into "Whiskey Knights," where the band tap into a rich dynamic and melodic sense in line with aggressive pop punk that should become a definitive part of their maturing sound. Standout track "Andy Believed in Glass Mountains" hastily details poignant snapshot memories and after a repeat play-worthy country-ballad-turned-math-rock breakdown, peaks with the band screaming: "at least we have a song." It's perfectly messy and undeniably momentous as the still-young Burnitdowns rapidly approach their stride. (Rubber Factory)