The Chicago-based project of songwriter Savanna Dickhut, Burr Oak last appeared on these pages back in 2021 around the release of the excellent debut album, Late Bloomer. A band built around constant change and evolution, since that release they have expanded into their current four-piece lineup, and recorded their follow-up, a new EP, Annabelle out in September via new label home, Easy Does It Records. Following on from the record’s first single Rainclouds, today the band are premiering the EP’s second cut, No Time To Dream.

Annabelle marks something of a departure from the more personal songwriting Savanna showcased on Late Bloomer. While that record dealt with her own anxiety, depression and break-ups, here she takes a turn towards the conceptual, introducing us to the titular Annabelle and her less-than-ideal lover Adam. The EP tracks the pair from their early infatuation and rushed relationship, through to an acrimonious, verbally abusive split, and untimely pregnancy.

With the EP’s central track, No Time To Dream, we find Annabelle at her lowest ebb, suffering port-partum depression following the birth of her child, as Savanna explains, “all of her time is taken up by taking care of her newborn without any help.  She feels lost and hopeless. She contemplates what life would be like if she ended things. The only thing keeping her going is the will to survive for her baby“. The sense of hopelessness is reflected in the lyric, “she takes care of her baby, she has no time to read, she has no time to sleep, she has no time to dream”.

If the themes and perspectives have been a huge change for Burr Oak, musically too this track seems to come from a different approach. The hazy, dream-like production of Late Bloomer replaced by a sound that’s grittier and more muscular than before. We’re greeted with a driving Interpol-like guitar line, and crashing, snarling indie-rock drums, before the damn bursts and Savanna’s half-whispered vocals enter, ominously mirroring the chaotic mind of the song’s protagonist. The result is an intriguing new direction for Burr Oak, an ever-evolving artist who on this evidence is just as fascinating as ever.

Annabelle is out September 20th via Easy Does It Records. For more information on Burr Oak visit https://linktr.ee/burroak.