Existential Hymns Put Into Music The Laughs, Wonder, Struggle And Strangeness Of Life

Many musicians claim to start with a musical form – pop, hip hop, rap, rock, whatever – and take it somewhere new.

Tyler Burba and his band Visit punched that ticket, got on a country-pop bus and rode it off into jazz, Delta blues, rock, pop, classical and a bunch of others. Their latest album has all that and more. The 13-track Existential Hymns releases on December 8.

The mix is carefully and thoughtfully crafted. It involves a multitude of people and instruments between and within songs.

The dominant style is country, but probably not like any country you have ever heard before.

“This album is expanding the form,” he said, “taking the popular song and seeing how far I can stretch it out and still maintain its satisfying structure.

“It pushes the listener to places they’re not expecting. The album’s full of surprises. I hope they are delightful surprises.” 

The fourth track, “’Cept Love,” is an almost pure country sound that includes weepy strings, banjo, steel guitar, and harmonica and woodwinds. Here’s the chorus, sung in his clear, soothing baritone voice: 

All this love, save it for later
Screw the dove
And feed the alligator
Ain’t nothing wrong with love
’Cept love

Tyler sang in gospel competitions as a kid, and he wanted to be a preacher until he was 10, when his parents divorced. Life with a single mom took a turn that didn’t include church. Music remained.

When he was 11, his mom bought him a guitar with a jar of pennies, and that was when he started writing music. “A lot of bad songs,” he said. “I hope I got all the bad songs out when I was young.”

Musically, he moved from Elvis to the Beatles, then Bob Dylan. 

“I wanted to be Bob Dylan,” he said. After that came Hank Williams, Delta Blues, Woody Guthrie. Country is now his primary music. 

“I love all kinds of music,” Tyler said, “but I got into country music later in life, because as a kid I didn't like it. Probably, I couldn’t understand it yet. What did I know about heartbreak, and hustling for cash and struggle?  But when I became an adult, and had some years under my belt, I got it and it resonated with me.”

Before divorce, his parents could afford piano lessons for Tyler’s older brother, Todd. Afterward, not.

“I was dying to learn, but my brother Todd wouldn’t teach me anything. So, I snuck a look at his piano books and taught myself rudimentary piano. I now play both guitar and piano.”

Todd is now one of the three core members of Visit. The other is Clint Carlson, the drummer. 

“He is the furnace of the band, providing all the energy and excitement.”

“There's a lot of musicians on this album, and a lot of great talent. I had an amazing string section that I worked with and incredible brass players. The whole spirit of the album was having a bunch of talented people who helped bring these songs to life. The idea of the band is visiting people who come in to play on the tracks.”

“I must give credit to my co-producer Rob Weston, as well, who mixed my last two album in addition to this one. He’s really helped me shape the sound.”

Existential Hymns is the band’s fourth release. Visit was released in 2006, Think God in 2010, and “Now everybody—” Visit Interprets Songs by Thomas Pynchon in 2020.

“I started writing the songs for this album twelve years ago. It hit some pauses. I had to go back to grad school. I had a daughter. I had to get sober. Life kind of got in the way. Then, of course, the pandemic hit.”

Through his admiration of Allen Ginsberg, who he met at age fourteen, Tyler eventually came to his practice of Buddhism, which has shaped his existential view of the world. 

“I call them Existential Hymns because it's me dealing with all that life throws at you. Lyrically, it's about confronting mortality, lost dreams and relationships, and being contented with what life gives you.”

His music deals with all that. “Somebody’s Daddy Now,” song No. 11 on Existential Hymns, is a country tune in love-gone-bad style, but the bad love is a failed lifestyle:

I won’t return to a time
when all my buddies
was the drinkin’ kind
so, let me lay to rest
all your whys and your hows
I’m somebody’s daddy now

On many songs, there is expression of what seems like the meaninglessness of life. His voice may be smooth, but his lyrics often are not.  Yet, even with the darker subject matter – “Bastard Sun,” “Death’s Gonna Marry You and Me” – the music, in all its many styles, brings light. 

Visit has started recording on its next album, Exit Ayres, “ayres” (pronounced airs) being the Old French word for song.

His goal is simply to have “as big an audience as possible for this music.”

“I’m not trying to make a million dollars or anything like that. I’m not naïve in that way, but I want this music to get to people who need it or would get something out of it. It’s for listeners who are having to confront the bigger issues of life and could use some music that deals honestly with the challenges of being human.”

Connect with Visit and Tyler Burba on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.

Websites:
Album trailer
Existential Hymns
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Apple Music
SoundCloud
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