Returning to action after a six-year lull,
Vertical Horizon head into some new territory on
Burning the Days, moving in two separate directions: getting softer and sweeter on the slowest songs, while selling the drama on their harder numbers.
Vertical Horizon still favor an immaculate production, which tends to make the proggier elements sound a little like a gentler latter-day
Peter Gabriel, yet these numbers also benefit greatly from the thunder
Rush drummer
Neil Peart brings.
Peart drums on a quarter of the album's 12 tracks, even penning the lyrics to the closing "Even Now," and he gives these tracks considerable force, pushing the amiable group toward a bolder, aggressive palette. These colors are all the brighter when compared to the rest of the record, where
Vertical Horizon strum and whisper, creating warm, pleasant vibes. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine