Burning House – Unfamiliar Friends (Single Review)

Have you ever wondered how it feels to ride off of a creative wave and then have it culminate into a seamless project? Well, meet Burning House. In today’s review, we will be evaluating their first release of 2025, a single called ‘Unfamiliar Friends’.

The journey to this single was not necessarily linear, pivoting in a fashion that mirrors behind-the-scenes challenges faced by Burning House. The frontman, Max Dunbavin, re-evaluated the setup of the Birmingham art rock outfit in late 2024 to become a solo project.

‘Unfamiliar Friends’, part of a wider and unannounced project, explores themes of alienation, stagnation, loss and addiction, behind a new wave-inspired instrumental backdrop, juxtaposing the questions being asked of the listener through the lyrics. This combination makes for an eerie, paranoid, yet absolutely infectious listen.

It is also the genesis of an artistic and spiritual rebirth for Burning House and Dunbavin. It is described as a track that isn’t something to be missed.

The start starts off pretty ambient, giving you a spaced out feel, before slight indie-rock and surf wave chords lace the song. It’s a mixture of electronica, indie rock and a bit of mystique. I think the soundscape is fairly interesting, with a more ethereal choice for the general soundscape and little ‘anxious’ quirks through the percussion. There’s also the addition of the jersey club drum pattern within the sequence of the percussion, making it quite interesting.

This song does sound a bit like as if an indie act from 2014 woke up from the dead and decided to try to reinvent itself without losing itself. The lyrical content and the instrumentation, as well as the vocal techniques used in this really remind me of the Singaporean indie-rock band Stopgap or the artist Sondre Lerche. All of these artists give off really similar vibes.

I’d say Burning House sticks out with a more interesting and captivating instrumentation, such as the addition of the jazz guitar solo towards the middle of the song and intricacies within its percussion. It’s not too offensive, but not too grandeur. Just in the middle. It’s a nice song if you’re a person who’s pretty quirky and calm.

SCORE/Good: Unfamiliar Friends tap into a variation of music that aims to explore and embrace the dark side of one’s neurology, with a bit of quirkiness sprinkled in every measure. It’s an interesting mixture of introspective but chill at the same time.

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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