Album Review: Brian Berger - Temporary Towns
Brian Berger
Temporary Towns
August 4, 2017
8/10
A record that sounds built from the ground up, Temporary Towns is the sound of a performer coming into his own and crafting his own sound.
Bloomington based musician Brian Berger showed up in the WLV email inbox a while back, and generally I don't do much with random "listen to my music" requests, but upon hearing some of his work I couldn't help but be compelled to write about his new record Temporary Towns.
Initially I was intrigued by the album's bombastic opening track "The Desert, a Pilot and a Wolf" and thought strains of old Brand New or some other pounding emo bands. But as the record progresses you get flirtations with sounds that you wouldn't normally see coming together on a single record. From subtle near-ambient breakbeats in "Billboards" to unapologetic autotune in "Carnival Crowds" and with a dash of folky singer-songwriter qualities throughout, Temporary Towns is a record that's hard to pin down but in that way makes it whole and quite the experience for digging into where an artist is going. There's something here for music lovers of all types.
One of the best things I could say about a record is that upon listening, I couldn't tell you the influences from the past. Temporary Towns is no different, Berger is very distinctly building a sound uniquely his own without letting the listener know where it's coming from. It's very much a complete record and one I'd definitely recommend as we leave summer behind and begin to get closer to fall.
You can find Temporary Towns on all digital outlets starting today and make sure you give Brian Berger a like and a follow on social media.