If It's Too Loud...

The Natvral, aka Kip Berman formerly of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, continues making anthemic music for his upcoming album. The latest single, "Summer of Hell," starts off a little more folky and more like his 2021 album Tethers. The song quickly switches off to The Natvral's anthemic, rootsy alt-rock sound we've been hearing lately. A song like "Summer of Hell" sounds like if Nebraska had stayed as solo home recordings and The E Street band ended up recording them. It's a great loud folk rock song that is making Summer of No Light  a highly anticipated album for us. Kip Berman says of his new single: "Rich kids slum it, young adults cling to the costume of youth, day and night are just different reasons to draw the blinds, impetuous love turns to rancor, and a faint yellow cloud of decadent penury settles upon a crumbling shared rental.  Y ou won’t be getting your security deposit back.  Friends go and come and go again, and there’s a fellow ...

The Natvral, aka Kip Berman from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart's current Americana based project, has released a new song that fits right in line with his previous single. "Lucifer's Glory" was somewhere between Springsteen's more anthemic hits and Nebraska , and "A Glass of Laughter," the latest, moves even more towards the anthemic side of The Boss. It's a rollicking track that sounds like Springsteen doing his best Dylan through an indie rock filter. This is just great rock music that drops a lot of indie rock's pretention and isn't afraid to worship at the altars of the rock gods that came before. Kip Berman says of his new song: " In love, there are times after the good times— when sweet nothings give way to sour somethings, and what once passed for charming is viewed in a less forgiving light. Noble poverty may reveal itself as mere privation. The impulsive gestures of youth are now recast as irresponsibility. "But let’s ra...

The Natvral (aka Kip Berman's post The Pains of Being Pure at Heart musical project) is back with new music. "Lucifer's Glory" continues Berman's dabbling into t6he world of Americana, but this single amps it up a notch. Considering Berman now lives in New Jersey, it's very easy to compare any roots based singer/songwriter to Bruce Springsteen, but in the case of this song it's also very apt. "Lucifer's Glory" isn't quite as anthemic as Springsteen's arena rock hits, but it's also not quite as stripped down as Nebraska. This one is more like early Springsteen when he was still working it out at The Stone Pony and before he was a national sensation. The star quality is still there, but in a bit of a more scrappy, indie rock kind of way. Kip Berman says of his new single: " Don’t let the title fool you— It’s not a full throated 'Hail Satan,' but it is full throated. I suppose I could’ve called it 'Paradise Lust....

Photo by Jena Crumbo The Natvral is the current project of Kip Berman, formerly of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. The band's new single, "A Portrait of Sylvie Vartan," continues Berman's move away from his previous band's indie pop sound into a more roots based one. This new song isn't quite as folky as The Natvral's previous music, but is more of a roots based rock and roll. There's a little bit of Bob Dylan's ramble here, along with the vibe of some of Tom Petty's mid tempo songs. Maybe it's just because Berman is now New Jersey based, but I'm hearing some of Bruce Springsteen's sound that stops just shy of the arena rockers. After comparing this song to three classic rockers, I do feel the need to say "A Portrait of Sylvie Vartan" isn't rehashing an older rock sound. This is definitely a modern song that has roots based in the past. Kip Berman says of the new song: “‘A Portrait of Sylvie Vartan’ is about the allu...

The Natvral is the newest project from Kip Berman, formerly of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. It allows him to show off his more folk and roots side, and you don't get more folk and roots than covering The Byrds. For The Natvral's newest single, Berman recruited Jen Goma for a cover of "The Ballad of Easy Rider," the theme song for Easy Rider . It's an iconic song, and probably much more folk pop than you remember it being. Goma takes on lead vocals for the song, and it's definitely a more modern folk take on the original. It's a little more lush, but not by much. The original is a fairly pop take on folk, by 2021 standards. This is a great cover that the majority of our readers are going to really enjoy. You can listen to The Natvral and Jen Goma's version of "The Ballad of Easy Rider" below. The song is available for the "name your price" option over at The Natvral's Bandcamp. For more on The Natvral, check out the artist...

Artist : Moontype Album : Bodies of Water Quick Thoughts : I think I fell in love with Moontype when I first heard "Ferry" last year. It's a fuzzy, dreamy explosion of music that feels beguiling and direct all at the same time, and the album delivers on the same energy. I find it fills the void that's been waiting impatiently for a new Field Mouse album, so if you dig that sort of thing, don't miss this one. Songs of Note : "Lush," "Ferry," "About You" Artist : GRMLN Album : Dark Music in the Sun Quick Thoughts : GRMLN is maybe the first act I've seen in a while that seems to be trying to bring the early-aughts Strokes soundscape into the 2020s. "Superstar" could have been a b-side off Room on Fire for all I know. Still, it's solid garage rock and I'm here for it. Songs of Note : "Superstar," "The Way it Ends," "Star Eye" Artist : Dry Cleaning Album : New Long Leg Qui...

The Natvral is Kip Berman's (formerly of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart) new project with a more folky sound than his previous band. "Sun Blisters," his new single, is a little less folk but nowhere near the indie pop of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Instead, "Sun Blisters" is more of a 90's style Americana rocker. It's a mid-tempo Cracker meets Tom Petty kinda song. There's a bit of a Bob Dylan ramble to it, but it's definitely a rock song. Maybe it's just the fact that the word "sun" is in the title, but "Sun Blisters" screams just driving around in the summer without any rush to get to your destination. Kip Berman says of the new song: "It's a song about how you don't always want what's for the best-- and neither do I." You can listen to "Sun Blisters" below. Tethers  is due out April 2 on Kanine Records. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on The Natvral, check out the artist...

Ex-The Pains of Being Pure at Heart frontman Kip Berman has released a new single from his new project The Natvral, and it continues his movement away from his previous band's sound to a more folky one. In fact, "New Moon" is pure folk. "New Moon" is just vocals and acoustic guitar, leaning heavily on vocals. It's a lovely, quiet song that's definitely a strong divergence from his previous band's sound. The rock band frontman goes acoustic/folk solo act is a pretty standard trope, but no one is going to complain when it's done this well. Kip Berman explains the meaning behind the new song: "A friend of mine used to date a kind-hearted, but poor musician. At some point, their relationship ended and she went on to marry someone that offered a bit more stability - and asked me to sing a song at their wedding. I gladly sang the song she asked me to, but that experience led me to write another. "I didn't mean to sympathize with her ex - ...

Photo by Remy Holwick It's been four years since The Pains of Being Pure at Heart released their final album. In that time, singer Kip Berman left Brooklyn for Princeton, NJ and had two kids. His new musical project, The Natvral, reflects that change. The first single off of the upcoming album, "Why Don't You Come Out Anymore?," is about all the life changes that come with getting older and staying in a lot more. It's a more standard folk rock song, more along the lines of an alt-rock Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. It's also a much bigger sound than his previous band. It shows a level of happiness despite being about losing a lot of the things that make you you, while morphing into a new version of yourself without even realizing it. You can watch the video for "Why Don't You Come Out Anymore?" below. Tethers is due out April 2 on Dirty Bingo Records. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on The Natvral, check out the artist's Facebook and Twit...