Summer of No Light - The Natvral

 

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

The Natvral Returns

Kip Berman returns from a brief hiatus following the release of his highly acclaimed 2021 release, Tethers, with a new single 'A Portrait of Sylvie Vartan', a limited 7" single released on 26th April on Prefect Records.

For fans familiar with the sumptuous release the single is a reminder of his amazing Laurel Canyon summery sound with his heartfelt delivery married with sun kissed folk guitar, stemming from his days as frontman The Pains of Being Pure at Heart).

Of the track, Berman says, 'A Portrait of Sylvie Vartan’ is about the allure and the limits of self-invention, and the ways we relate - or don’t - across oceans, language, and time'

Berman is slowly becoming the troubadour of the post-pandemic world, his album Tethers reached critical acclaim and reminded this listener of the early works of Ryan Adams from his Gold period of 2001 - touching lyrics, heartfelt delivery with a breezy upbeat feeling.

The single is a special 7" limited edition vinyl restricted to 240 copies on green vinyl. It can be ordered here.

In further news, The Natvral will be touring in the UK in late April after Easter starting in Cardiff with stops in Scotland and with a headline show at The Grace in London on April 26th before dates in Spain and Portugal. Tickets are available here. 

New music from any new artist is a joy, and for old and new listeners, Kip Berman/The Natvral is one to watch this year.

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.