Stereo Embers The Podcast 0352: Kip Berman (The Natvral, Pains of Being Pure At Heart)

“Summer of No Light”

The Philadelphia-raised Kip Berman had a musical life before he was the Natvral and that life could be found in his band The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. The beloved New York outfit was around for a little over a decade, calling it a day in 2019 after four perfect albums of indie pop that brought to mind everyone from Aztec Camera to Belle and Sebastian. Berman’s 2021 debut as The Natural was the scorching beauty of an album called Tethers, which, for those of you keeping score, was my favorite album of the year. His sophomore album Summer Of No Light is a straight-up killer. It’s got all the howl of Basement Tapes era-Dylan and the raw pop smarts of early Dream Syndicate, and it’s one of those records that grabs you from the beginning, leaving you mesmerized by its raw and tender power. I love this album. It’s somehow feral and polished and it’s filled with the most achingly lovely hooks you’ll hear all year.

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