And Here, it’s Real

Peacekeeper is the debut EP of Burnsie, a powerhouse songwriter and vocalist based in Annapolis, Maryland. The EP is a work of modern art, a cohesive collection of stories about love and heartbreak capable of standing on their own, that are nonetheless enhanced when listened to as a unified anthology. It is a concept EP, each song a vignette in the narrator’s relationship.

Recorded at Still and Glade Cabin in Virginia and recorded and engineered by CJ Metz, with additional contributions from Ahren Buchheister, the instrumentation and production of the EP beautifully fit the songwriting. Sonically, the EP is both sparse and massive. There are very few instruments - just guitar, lead vocals, bass, harmonica, and violin. These few instruments sound huge, thanks to lush reverb that places the songs (and the listener) in a cavernous space. This vast-feeling emptiness is the perfect stage to hold Burnsie’s songwriting.

Storytelling is at the core of this EP. Burnsie’s ability to capture the visceral and raw emotions of a love gone bad anchors the songs in the world of her creation. It reminds one of a more raw, vocally powerful Julien Baker. 

Speed Bumps

“Speed Bumps” is a song about the duality of deeply missing someone and resenting the baggage they left you holding. The song’s imagery is full of physical artifacts evoking absence and longing: hair ties, laundry, speed bumps. The song paints a vivid image of the intangible things left behind by the same ended relationship too, like their point of view and attitude. The song’s lyrical hook is a parting jab declaring that when the narrator gets back to being the best version of themselves, it won’t be because of this past relationship. 

“Speed Bumps” drips of grief, hurt, and regret, a real song of heartbreak. The instrumentation matches the theme perfectly as the listener is introduced to the spaciousness and sparseness that sonically defines the entire EP.

Peacekeeper

While the narrator in “Speed Bumps” was reflecting on a past relationship gone bad, in “Peacekeeper”, they are in the very thick of it. In this song, the relationship is dying but the narrator is still trying desperately to justify to themselves and to others that it is worth staying. In the chorus, the same narrator speaks from a future state, acknowledging their own self-endangering tendency to delude themselves, trying to make things work, and trying to be the ‘Peacekeeper.’

While this song casts the narrator's partner in a negative light, they are a secondary character in this story. This song is more about the narrator's own painful tendencies. Instrumentally the song has a similar sound and feel to Speed Bumps, connecting the songs within the arc of the EP.

Ashland City

The most up-tempo and shortest track on the EP, “Ashland City” represents the optimistic beginning of a relationship when they feel like they could “walk on water” despite life feeling like it's generally getting harder. They also hope that they are able to make their partner feel the way they do, bolstered.

“Ashland City” is a departure from the cavernous sound of the first two tracks. It has a relaxed swing and rhythmic momentum that evokes movement, skipping almost, highlighting the optimistic story of the song.

Floods

In “Floods,” time has passed and the relationship is over. The narrator is reflecting back on earlier days (the period Ashland City is set in), back when they thought their relationship would never end.  The song is about reconciling the feelings once felt of being a gardner and nurturing a thriving garden, to being left and having to accept that shocking and devastating reality, likening it to a sudden and consuming flood.

The sound of “Floods” fits into the same mold as most of Peacekeeper, thick lush reverb, sparse instrumentation, rhythm acoustic guitar centering the instrumentation with harmonica tastefully filling in the spaces around Burnsie’s powerful vocals.

The song ends with a poem written and read by Burnsie’s grandfather, creating a sweet and unexpected moment of lightness and humor amidst the serious backdrop of the EP.

Joy Glowing

The final song of the EP, “Joy Glowing” sings of the desire to freeze a moment in time and preserve someone’s words, both to savor them and also to be able to mirror that joy back to its source in future moments of struggle. The track’s melancholic sound and plaintive chord progression is enlivened by harmonica and fiddle, giving the track a feeling of being more full, a respite from barrenness.  The harmonica and fiddle often clash, creating a dimension of tension. While the EP is full of sorrowful songs and minor keys, the final track fades out over a resolving major chord, leaving the story with a whisper of hope.

Peacekeeper was released on June 13th, 2026.