Spectreview: The Berries – Berryland

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Matt Berry pays homage to George Harrison’s debut solo album on the cover of Berryland, but it’s not just lip service. Though his work under The Berries feels at least partially informed by the easygoing jangle of indie’s last ten years, the young Seattle artist seems hell-bent on wholly embodying the antiquity of classic artists like Harrison, down to his refusal to keep up with social media. In Berry’s world, those fields still have plenty yet to harvest; after all, that easygoing jangle didn’t come from nowhere. While Berry’s time with Big Bite and Happy Diving showcased his obvious talent as a songwriter, what The Berries shows is his historian side, how deeply he understands what makes all those old records work. This is not to say that Berry’s songwriting talents aren’t apparent on this album, as on Berryland, he’s almost monomaniacally obsessed with constructing one “perfect” guitar melody after another. It’s to his immense credit that he pulls it off so consistently across this record.

As an advancement of this raison d’être, the album supplants their 2018 debut, Start All Over Again, in almost every way. It boasts better production, from cleaner guitars to punchier drums to more present vocals. Where Berry’s tunes on the debut bore an obvious reverence to classic rock, here the lines are blurred even further; tracks like the gorgeous, yearning “Passing Scene” and the dewy stomp of “Lowest Form of Life” could well be covers of unreleased Harrison outtakes, while later the southern rock influences come out in full force on “Along The Water” and “Pedestal”. If there’s any fault, it’s that occasionally Berry leans in just a little too close to the fire, muddling his individuality with his influences. One gets the sense that Berry’s aspirations are too humble for even that though, as Berryland is exquisitely designed for the listener to forgo their preconceptions of coolness and get lost in its wholesome, simple pleasures.

Recommended for early morning garden work.