The Natvral - Tethers

 

Debut album from Kip Berman (The Pains of Being Pure at Heart) Tethers is out April 2nd via Dirty Bingo Records.

Following the disbandment of the band in 2017 after the release of The Echo of Pleasure, Berman found himself at a creative crossroads. Having written about young adult life in New York City with maturity and a fine ear for a tune - Berman found himself at a creative crossroads.

Tethers is the further maturation of Berman as a songwriter in a new guise as The Natvral with an observation of the changes in his life marking this as a self-portrait of sorts. This comes with a move from hipster central Brooklyn to Princeton and the arrival of a new daughter, this new identity as a parent came a shift in how he approached and created music. Instead of constant months of touring, came the writing for himself after bedtime for the children.

Tethers has a raw but earthy sound reminiscent of the Laurel Canyon sound with the swoon of Berman's voice sounding like mid-1970s Bob Dylan or Neil Young. This freedom of writing marks Berman out as a songwriter of great nuance and intellect as those famous troubadours but also in the footsteps of David Crosby and Ron Sexsmith.

 

The album opens with 'Why Don't You Come Out Anymore?' which is both triumphant and reflective of a time when younger they would be out everyday but now as life takes hold and responsibility appears so does the time for friends.

Second single 'New Moon' (track 2) is this soulful ballad again about reflection but of hope springing eternal at the end of day, when you look at the moon and think about the day that has passed and what has been achieved.  

From the emotive nature of 'Sun Blisters' to the yearning of 'Sylvia, the Cup of Youth' which brings to mind the prolific nature of Ryan Adams to the barnstorming 'Alone in London' which ends the album on quite a crescendo.

Tethers is out from Dirty Bingo Records on 2nd April on all formats.