While many songwriters seem to think it is the done thing to write about high drama and hedonism, their own machismo, and perceived success, framing themselves as the hero of some big epic, Berkley is, thankfully, above mythologizing about himself. Instead, his music is a conduit for reflections on small-town life, his formative years, first relationships, and the adolescent learning curve, that makes us the people we are.
And Pueblo, his full-length debut release, is both a reminiscence of and a love letter to his former hometown. Anyone can make up stories about themselves, cover their lives with self-aggrandizement, and look at their past with rose-tinted glasses. Few are brave enough to turn over stones and see what is underneath, open boxes that should have remained shut, and look at their younger selves in a way that leaves them vulnerable, open to self-criticism, and which perhaps even reopens wounds that would otherwise have healed by now. And so, this album is an act of self-analysis and a confessional, honest, heartfelt, and sometimes enlightening. But, as he says himself. That’s not just Pueblo. That’s life.
Musically speaking, there is plenty going on, and all manner of restrained and understated sonic threads are woven together to create his signature sound – blissed-out pop melodies, chiming and charming keyboards, fractured guitars, gentle beats, and hazy, understated Americana vibes – all ebb and flow through his songs.
From the soulful, shimmering and slightly nostalgic AM radio-infused sound of “Oldies” to the floating dream-pop ambiance of “Dark Energy” and from the country grooves of “California King Bed” to the west coast sheen of “Pueblo Nights,” the place he describes on this album is both on borne of personal recollections and a universal and recognizable place marker for most of our own early years.
We all have our own Pueblo. It is less a physical place and more a time, a feeling, a state of mind. It might differ in so many ways from the one described here, but even so, the stories, scenes and scenarios, the thoughts, and feelings found on this album are something we will all recognise relate to.
Pueblo album order
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