Tethers, the new album from The Natvral, just out, seems to complete a rather remarkable and highly surprising transformation. For it's the work of Kip Berman, former lead singer of alternative darlings The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. The transformation seems to be the one that has been going on in Berman's head since he was leading The Pains back in the day. From wanting to be Lawrence of Felt in 1986, to wanting to be Bob Dylan in 1966.
Why such a talented man should want to go on such a life journey is slightly beyond me but Berman really, really, wants to go on this journey. He really wants to be Dylan in 1966. Round about the time he started making music with The Band, wore polka dot shirts and had Edie Sedgwick on his arm and was really perfecting his withering sneer. You know, round about that time when he was probably the coolest man in the world.
OK, Dylan was very, very cool at that point in time but it still doesn't explain why talented musicians do things like this in 2021. Berman has got a strong set of songs here but you wouldn't know it. Because he spreads the Dylan-isms in terms of his vocal delivery so thickly across every note of Tethers that nothing else can breath. Someone, really should have said something to him. Like 'stop' for example.
It's really very difficult to review this record properly because pure and simple it's really just a terrible Dylan impression over a pretty good set of songs. The one thing Berman doesn't seem to realise about his hero is that Dylan, sang the way he did for a reason. He wanted to move, he wanted to engage, he wanted to facilitate and encourage change. He didn't just want to perfect his Woody Guthrie impression. In short, don't listen to this. Listen to Blonde on Blonde instead.
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