David Berkeley:
Some Kind of Cure
Straw Man
[Rating: 3 stars]
David Berkeley’s fourth album, a collection of warm, melodically complex folk tunes with a vaguely exotic air, was conceived and written while the artist lived in a remote Corsican village. While the geography doesn’t play directly into the songs, the album is infused with a sense of deep quietness and space. Arrangements are minimal, but make the most of acoustic guitars, mandolin, banjo, woodwinds, and simple percussion. Berkeley’s wine-dark voice and penchant for dramatically textured minor-key ballads recalls Cat Stevens at his introspective best, but he also shows an aptitude for swaying country waltzes (“Steel Mill”), traditional folk tunes (“Shenandoah”), and occasional mild rockers like “Parachute” (“Your heart is like a parachute/It only opens when you fall”) and “Hope for Better Days.” Berkeley also wrote a book, 140 Goats and a Guitar, whose individual stories correspond to each song on the album.