Berryland, by The Berries

Berryland

by The Berries

supported by

¡mubydram! I love the Elliott Smith / Silver Jews vibes in this album. Favorite track: Heavy Rain.

more...

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$8 USD or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Released by Run For Cover Records

Includes unlimited streaming of Berryland via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 3 days

Purchasable with gift card

$12 USD or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Limited to 350 Copies.

Includes unlimited streaming of Berryland via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 3 days

9 remaining

Purchasable with gift card

$24 USD or more

1.	Makes Me Sick 03:12	lyrics
high praise for the man in white sing his song, sing it right all around you the fire burns i'm getting high as soon as i return hear the drums, watch the sun soar high as you run because my mind, it needs your kiss something about it makes me sick
2.	Lowest Form Of Life 02:33	lyrics
when i walk alone past the violence i can't unsee when my vision's gone, i get the feeling of being free but then you call a victim to all no, and the feelings fall singing a lovers tune for the ones you call bullshit and tell them what you want, and how you're going to make the best of it oh yes you are but then you call a victim to all no, and the feelings fall
3.	Fruit 02:44	lyrics
lay me down and take my hand say it in a way i'll understand through the mist i saw chosen land fallen men, swords in the sand i dont want to split it in two, but i don't want to tell you lies was it mine or yours to lose, i don't want to tell you lies a handsome king caught me by surprise he lost his dignity right between my eyes i dont want to split it in two, but i don't want to tell you lies was it mine or yours to lose, i don't want to tell you lies is that all you have to give? i don't want to tell you lies and do you miss him when he says, that i don't want to tell you lies i don't want to tell you lies
4.	Passing Scene 03:39	lyrics
well i've been thinking over, yeah maybe for a time or two you say you don't want me around, i'm thinking that you do because it's the hairs on my neck that stand up so damn tall they tell you who i really am, and i don't know how long i can go and i dont want you singing songs about me baby whisper it to me in a passing scene tall and ugly, stories that i sell you hold me to the words i say i mean
5.	Feral Eyes 03:46	lyrics
down the road i see hateful eyes staring back at me sizeable complex, i don't see past it i do not rest feral eyes they see you one way and pray to god that you don't stay focused vision, a life of your own and its worth living out in the quarry i do not revel, i do not worry feral eyes they see you one way and prey to god that you don't stay abandoned love its got you down until something new comes around
6.	D.Y.W.I.B. 04:15	lyrics
well i was drifting in and out of sight hard enough to see beyond the light men in war do as they like but i want you to feel alright and do you want it bad? do you need it bad? do you want it bad? do you need it bad? fatal lovers on parade see the finish line flicker and fade praise the man who seeks no estate worse than that probably insane and do you want it bad? do you need it bad? because i want it bad and i need it bad
7.	Hell On The Speedway 01:41	lyrics
i can't see it, the lights too low im taking it easy, i'm taking it slow stepping forward in due time so you can get yours and i get mine something around the bend is showing you the way it holds your tired hand and tells you its okay as far as i'm concerned its all the same praise the power of your creation now
8.	Along The Water 04:27	lyrics
walk beside a lonely dancer feel her hand growing cold, wanting more reverent light shines upon you steals your sight, junked and wronged by your own just speak your mind freely and tell me how you feel all along the water, i'll know it's real the light it lies to you and yours hides away in what you meant i've lost the sense of what is mine and i believe it's heaven sent
9.	Pedestal 04:20	lyrics
light of day peaking in, it almost blinds you from your sins afraid of your wanting now, and how it holds you from the hounds, oh they're hungry for you a holy house soaked in the rain it's washing you of your pain and when you're saying that is that i swear i hear the devil laugh i swear i'm hearing it, how he laughs oh he's laughing at you and now i'm after a man i know so well someone who could put me on a pedestal
10.	Heavy Rain 03:36	lyrics
i had ideas about your tone a horrible pain about you sent down the road from the north i feel it pour, a heavy rain i hope to god it don't drive me insane because i've been waiting up for you something that you got to prove but somewhere there i lost my mind and i've been a little different, a little off the line a holy man speaking to me, he says i'm a lie says i'm a lie and down by the water you walk praising for a saviour you know you don't want

about

The Berries’ sophomore full-length feels like something of an oddity in 2019. It’s an unabashed love letter to decades of guitar music that manages to sound fresh, it’s got Americana sway and Brit rock swagger. It’s an album preoccupied with the state of the world that never strays from the realm of personal; it explores the pull of extremes in an effort to find balance;and it doesn’t surrender to nihilism nor pander to hopefulness. It’s Berryland, and it rocks.

Matt Berry, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and overall mastermind of The Berries, first began to turn heads with his work in louder bands in the west coast underground music scene (Big Bite, Happy Diving), but his true love has always been unfiltered melody. “I’ve always been attracted to pop sensibilities and I was interested in making music that leaned more towards that instead of volume and distortion,” he explains. After a handful of demos, The Berries’ released their 2018 debut LP Start All Over Again, which documented a miserable Seattle winter and Berry’s impressive ability to organically wear his influences on his sleeve. As he began working on a follow up, he found himself becoming more and more at ease in forging those inspirations within his own unique sonic identity.

That assured sense of identity is unmistakable on Berryland. After tracking drums with Trevor Spencer at his studio outside Seattle, Way Out, Berry began the in-depth process of recording nearly every other instrument on the album in his own home. “Every day I wake up and if I’m not working, I'm in my cave for eight hours makng music, so I was very used to spending days just working on a song,” he recalls. The extra time spent tinkering and experimenting can be heard in Berryland’s vast array of guitar tones, psychedelic flourishes, and layered vocal harmonies. Traces of Berry’s punk roots remain in the occasional noisy guitar squall, which meets the jangle and twang with surprising cohesion. Driving all the guitars is Berryland’s secret weapon: its attention to rhythm. The sense of groove and occasional electronic percussion are subtle but key elements of the album’s pulse, often inspired by Berry’s love of the 1990s intersection of rock and danceable beats.

All this musical freedom supports Berry’s chief lyrical concerns: a desire for autonomy in the face of all the structures we create for some semblance of solid ground in an increasingly unstable world. “Everything I think about is on this spectrum,” he explains. “Independent or dependent, creating rules for yourself and relying on them, or allowing yourself that personal freedom. It’s really hard for me to not go insanely in one direction or another, and a lot of the record is trying to find that balance.” Opening track “Makes Me Sick” sets up this dichotomy, with Berry leaning into his more nihilistic side overtop a thumping bass line and hallucinatory beat that recalls the many works of J. Spaceman. “Lowest Form Of Life” follows with a gently melancholy guitar lick and Berry lamenting the eagerness some have to put their heads in the sand and avoid the harsh realities of our modern world. Tracks like “Fruit” or “Passing Scene” are unconventional heartbreak songs that feature slide guitar and some of Berry’s finest vocal harmonies -- a lilting respite before the full-on boogie of “Feral Eyes”

“D.Y.W.I.B.” kicks of the B-side with Berry conjuring a cosmic singalong by way of Primal Scream and Neil Young, while elsewhere “Pedestal” jumps between alt-country strut and dirge. The back and forth between guitar bravado and somber songwriting on Berryland often mirror’s the shaky internal battle between the more self-absorbed and altruistic sides of human nature in Berry’s lyrics. “Hell On The Speedway” and closing track “Heavy Rain” offer a more optimistic spin on the fatalism of earlier songs. “All you can really do is try to keep going,” Berry says, “You have to keep pushing whatever ethos you believe in and try to make the best of it.” This a quiet sentiment might seem out of place in our complex world, but in Berryland, it sounds about right.

credits

released September 20, 2019

Drums recorded/engineered by Trevor Spencer at Way Out Studios
Vocals (tracks 1-7, 9) recorded/engineered by Kent Soliday at his house
Pedal Steel (tracks 2 and 5) recorded by Nick Merz
All other instruments recorded by Matthew Berry at Spruce House
Mixed by Matthew Berry at Spruce House
Mastered by Jack Shirley at The Atomic Garden

Pedal Steel (tracks 2 and 5) played by Nicholas Merz
Flute (track 1) played by Veronica Dye
All other instruments played by Matthew Berry

license

about

The Berries Los Angeles, California

for any and all inquiries: mattberry1215@gmail.com

contact / help

Contact The Berries

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like The Berries, you may also like:

Springtime and Blind
by Fiddlehead

supported by 27 fans who also own “Berryland”

A friend with a reliably fine musical taste posted this album on FB and I wasn't disappointed. Love the guitar sound and the passionate vocals (melodic enough to not pass as screamo or whatever). Punk rock spirit yet with a lot of dynamics (definitely a yes to the Dischord reference) and compact songs that won't leave your head for a long time. Many many great tunes on here but for the moment USMA and Lay Low have to be my favorites! Great band, very happy to have found them! perpendikel
go to album
Altogether
by Turnover

supported by 24 fans who also own “Berryland”

Turnover has done it again! Such a smooth sound, the only thing I was listening to while I vacationed in Florida when this album was released. romanaugust94
go to album
GUV I & II
by Young Guv

supported by 22 fans who also own “Berryland”

I really couldn't pass up a deal like this ❄️❄️❄️ ©ough©ool
go to album
This Could Be Texas
by English Teacher

The UK upstarts' debut veers from sunny, psychedelic folk to bristling post-punk with reckless abandon without ever missing a beat. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 18, 2024
go to album
Move To The Trees
by Winter McQuinn

Winter McQuinn mixes soft rock and psychedelic folk for a sound reminiscent of classic pop purveyors like Cut Worms and the Lemon Twigs. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 16, 2024
go to album
Up On Gravity Hill
by METZ

The Canadian trio's knack for writing bangers plots a steady course through the maelstrom. Bandcamp Album of the Day Apr 12, 2024
go to album
POST-
by Jeff Rosenstock

supported by 22 fans who also own “Berryland”

The melancholy and frustration definitely gets to you. crimsonscribe
go to album