Sophomore release by Kip Berman pseudonym out now from Dirty Bingo Records
Kip Berman's alter ego, The Natvral, won rave reviews in 2021 with his debut album Tethers, a troubadour solo release full of unrequited and forgotten loves with a hipster twist hailing from Brooklyn, New York as he does.
He returns with a new album and it is more of the same with some killer tracks mixed in with melodic album tracks making it a full package as one. However, with the previous album, there is a tinge of melancholy underpinning the whole album from 'A Glass of Laughter' to 'Summer of Hell' which juxtaposes the exultant melody with downbeat subject matter.
Berman remains a spirited and prolific songwriter, one who is a harbinger and conduit for exploring his past to make sense of the living present. You get the sense his writing is a form of therapy and allows him to channel emotions into the art form of music making.
What is so beautiful about this album is it's imperfect nature of it all, there is a rough and readiness to proceedings and yet it is welcoming to all due to the universality in regards to themes of love and loss.
The title of the album 'Summer of No Light' is taken from the climate crisis of 1816, a massive volcanic eruption in Indonesia darkened much of the world's sky - the ash brought dramatic global cooling and famine. During that summer however, was a period of creative explosion for one famous writer. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein that summer, she was in Lake Geneva riding out the awful summer. Berman expresses admiration that someone such as Shelley could sustain themselves through art, and yet getting fucked up. Famously Shelley was in Switzerland with her lover Percy Shelley, Lordy Byron and Claire Clairmont (Byron's paramour).
Tethers was completed under the restrictions of the global Covid-19 pandemic and was one of the finest releases during that period; and his defiance shines again in the punchy opener 'Lucifer's Glory' but the mark of any artist is one who can mix the riotous songs with ones of softness such as the closer 'Wintergreen'.
Berman sounds happy and artistically free, drawing upon personal experience and gaining perspective on his life is a joy for all who listen.
Summer Of No Light is out now from Dirty Bingo Records
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