Boston Chron - E.G. Phillips Cinematic Single a Fiery Rebuke to Election Season Chaos Agents

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Northern California's wildfires inspired the distinctive Americana songwriter's latest track, the allegorical "These Are Burning Days"

SAN FRANCISCO - BostonChron -- At first, the new E.G. Phillips release "These Are Burning Days" resembles a traditional folk dirge, with ominous repetition of lines filled with dark, apocalyptic imagery depicting the horrific beauty and chaos of wine country wildfires. But then Kenny Schick's production explodes into a progressive rocker as the "chaotic winds" turn this slow burn into a raging inferno. Amberly Rosin's mystic violin sears and mimics the horses forced to break loose and flee the safety of their stables referenced in the third verse that are also depicted in the Franz Marc inspired figurative cubist illustration created for the track by Mario Noche.

"The timing of the release of this song coincides not only with the emergence of the autumn colors the opening lines of the song depict, but also with our election season," says Phillips.

With politicians repeating salacious and false online accounts of pets being eaten to grab attention at the expense of the safety of immigrant communities, it's hard not to see immediate relevance of not only the invocation of Cain's fratricide of Able but the impassioned bridge where Phillips sings "You want me to hold all of your anger/You need me to metabolize your pain/While so much is vying for our eyeballs/By trying to hack our brains" — the writer dropping the metaphorical imagery momentarily to directly indict our current terminally-online age and its rage baiting. Chaotic winds indeed.

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After the fires subside, Phillips returns to the original theme, giving us a glimpse of its heartbreaking aftermath of burned out cars and decimated houses to remind us all this destructive rhetoric has consequences.

Often compared to the likes of Tom Waits, Nick Cage, and Bob Dylan, songwriter E.G. Phillips comes from a country called the Midwest. He creates lyric driven songs with his own special blend of cinematic imagery and whimsy to give a wry take on dealing with the longings of the heart and the madness of existence. Phillips hosts a residency show at Bazaar Cafe in San Francisco (5927 California Street) on the first Friday of each month. "Ducks With Pants" is the name of his fake band.

"These Are Burning Days" was produced by Kenny Schick (b3pmusic) and is published by Ducks With Pants Music. It is available on bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and all other major music streaming platforms. It is the first single of Phillips' upcoming EP "Nashville Recordings Vol. 4: Wear and Tear" due out in November.

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For more information, visit the official E.G. Phillips website ( http://duckswithpants.com ) or visit the Ducks With Pants on Facebook and Instagram