David Berkeley - The Fire in My Head

by Lisa Torem

published: 27 / 2 / 2014

Label: Straw Music
Format: CD

Optimistic and literature-influenced fifth album from New Jersey-based singer-songwriter, David Berkeley

Review

On his fifth studio album, New Jersey native David Berkeley’s inspirations include literature like ‘Moby Dick’ and gorgeous American landscapes. The imagery abounds. “I’m fascinated by the relationship between stories and songs” he explains. Also a fiction writer, his love of language comes across loud and clear. “We have only this one chance/Let’s taste it, my dear,” he sings on the opener to ‘The Fire in My Head’. The verses are full of optimism and include a bridge that expresses urgency -- this singer-songwriter’s vocals rise above a curious blend of strings. This first song leaves you in wild anticipation of what’s to come. The title song is more sombre and details a confessional moment. “Someone to save me,” Berkeley requests. “Once I looked away, I couldn’t look away,” he says, incredibly surprised by his own revelation. His natural warmth and delightful falsetto juxtapose a tasteful arrangement of ambient sounds. In ‘Oh, The Hedges Are High,’ Berkeley sighs, “the leaves turn again/See the green go to red.” In what is clearly his strength, he takes what others may consider an ordinary moment and seeks out endless possibilities. ‘The Well (Wait for the Rain)’ finds him “trying to hang on to something that lasts.” This nearly a capella ballad grows more deeply at each turn, bathed by a flood of subtle sonics . In ‘Shelter’, a childhood recollection brews. It is a desperately beautiful plea for togetherness. In ‘Broken Crown’ a young girl’s ribbon becomes inspiration and paints a pretty picture. Jordan Katz’s strident trumpet and the electric guitar of Bill Titus and Jono Manson make excellent conspirators. ‘I’m Coming Home’ is probably the most heartfelt track. ‘Song for the Road’ is the raw six-minute closer, which goes by in a flash. The thoughts are simply conveyed with the plaintive grace of a spiritual and talk of a small town twister. Layered lavishly with trumpet and banjo, the“cake walk” build is especially captivating.

Track Listing:-

1 Back to Blue
2 The Fire in My Head
3 Oh, The Hedges Are High
4 The Well (Wait for the Rain)
5 Shelter
6 Broken Crown
7 I'm Coming Home
8 Song for the Road