Premiere: Chicago’s burr oak Soars with Dramatic Fury in “FOMO”

burr oak © Ash Dye
burr oak © Ash Dye
A dynamic song of resilience and longing, independence and nostalgia, burr oak’s emotionally charged “FOMO” is an impassioned outpouring of all the post-breakup feelings we all too often keep to ourselves.
Stream: “FOMO” – burr oak
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Is it “fine on my own,” or “fear of missing out”? On burr oak’s latest single, the classic ‘FOMO’ acronym gets an upgrade to encompass not only a familiar social anxiety, but also a new kind of inner strength and self-assurance. A dynamic song of resilience and longing, independence and nostalgia, burr oak’s emotionally charged “FOMO” is an impassioned outpouring of all the post-breakup feelings we all too often keep to ourselves.

FOMO - burr oak © Carl Solether
FOMO – burr oak © Carl Solether
It was a sunny day oh
I lost my footing on the way to a show
When I was thinking of you in that cold winter snow
Pick up your bags and go
That’s what you said to me just a year ago
When I was standing on your apartment floor
I still remember that same perfume that you wore
Oh darlin’

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “FOMO,” the third single off Burr Oak’s forthcoming debut album, Late Bloomer (out later this year). The musical moniker for Chicago-based songwriter Savanna Dickhut, burr oak blends indie rock and Americana influences into a stirring, dreamy melting pot of raw, passionate, and uncompromising sound. Following 2020’s singles “Trying” and “Flower Garden,” “FOMO” finds burr oak rollicking in her element alongside wily guitar riffs and driving drums that keep pushing forward. Atop this groovy pool of instrumentation falls Dickhut’s voice – an evocative caress full of passion, pain, sentimentality, and radiant light. She sings a defiant, exuberant chorus:

You crossed my mind just a few times
When I was weak and alone
Now I’m doin’ just fine on my own
Now I’m doin’ just fine on my own
If you care to know it

Speaking to Atwood Magazine, Dickhut explains that “FOMO” is, in fact, one of the few songs not based on personal experience (she has previously referred to her music as her diary) – although she can certainly relate to its story and content.

“I love the play on the acronym ‘FOMO’ for this song,” the burr oak mastermind explains. “I was originally going to title it “Fine on my Own” but went with “FOMO” instead, which I didn’t at the time know stood for “fear of missing out.” This is one of the few songs on the album that I actually wrote about a friend as opposed to my own personal experience about a relationship, even though I wrote the song in the first person. My friend went through this tumultuous relationship and breakup a few years ago, and I had him in mind when I wrote ‘FOMO.’ Thinking back, it was rough what he endured and I just remember so many conversations we had about it and how much I could relate.”

“Being with somebody who you put your whole trust and faith in, you give them everything pretty much in hopes they will do the same. But in the end, it turns out they end up breaking their promises and turning out to be someone completely different than who you thought they were when you met. It’s a hard thing to accept to find out that the person you love or loved has lied or been unfaithful to you but I think it’s better to know even if it’s painful finding out and then begin trying to move on and eventually find the strength to be “fine on your own” verses not knowing and continuing in a relationship that is unhealthy.”

burr oak © Ash Dye
burr oak © Ash Dye
All of those times that you promised
All of those things.. I knew you wouldn’t keep
You lie to me
Remember staying up late
Your rosy cheeks in my bed sheets
You lie next to me and then you lie to me
Was that easy for you baby?

A dramatic cataclysm of sound rises and falls with every hit as burr oak captures the chaos of heartbreak’s slow, but steady recovery. Both a song of self-confidence and healing, as well as one of longing and yearning, “FOMO” truly does encompass both aspects of its umbrella acronym – the good and the bad, the positive and the poignant. Meanwhile, Savanna Dickhut’s burr oak project continues to rise, shining full of feverish grit and colorful charm in this track that goes well beyond the call of duty. Closing with an enchanting 1.5-minute long guitar solo that radiates the artist’s tempestuous energy, “FOMO” arrests our attention, holding us transfixed through to its cinematic end.

burr oak’s debut album Late Bloomer is out later this year. Stream “FOMO” exclusively on Atwood Magazine!

Shock me and my heart will start again
I’m bleeding from the outside in

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:: stream/purchase “FOMO” here ::
Stream: “FOMO” – burr oak
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FOMO - burr oak © Carl Solether

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? © Ashleigh Dye
art © Carl Solether

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