Strange Light

With his third studio album, 2008’s Strange Light, singer-songwriter David Berkeley continues to augment his sound with subtle but chilling instrumental touches that compliment his strongly empathetic songs charting the struggles of unsure kids growing into an adult word of confusing options and sacrifices. “Oh Lord, Come Down” is a simple, desperate plea. “Willis Avenue Bridge” reflects on how life never escapes its past. “Hurricane” finds its voice with a lover who only wishes to shut out the outside world. The sentiments are pointed and well-served by producer Brian Deck (Iron & Wine, Counting Crows) whose keyboards, particularly the shrieking organs, add a desperate mesmerizing urgency to these sorrow-laden tales. Yet, Berkeley’s never a downer. He takes on the role of the sympathetic narrator who will do what he can to enable his characters to survive the day (“You’re better off when you’re lost not found,” he admits against conventional wisdom on the James Taylor flavored “Scraps of You.”) Several of the tunes were initially debuted on Berkeley’s excellent live collection Live From Fez and are further fleshed out here. Berkeley continues to quietly compile an impressive resume of top-notch tunes and recordings just awaiting greater discovery.