BERKLEY – PUEBLO
A SPILL EXCLUSIVE ALBUM PREMIERE
With the West coast being as active and powerful in musical output as it has been over the past few decades, it should come as no surprise that today we turn out sights to Portland, which has proven to be creatively rewarding for indie pop artist Berkley (a.k.a. Andrew Jones). His debut full-length album Pueblo is out this week and we have the pleasure of introducing it to you, which is good news to fans of such artists as Pete Yorn, Fleetwood Mac, Phoenix and Vampire Weekend.
Supported by Oregon-based label Big Secret Records, this is actually an album inspired by and surrounding a powerful nostalgia and past reflections related to his hometown of Pueblo, Colorado. On this album, Berkley holds the mirror to himself, examining his past and revisiting the good, the bad and the ugly. Interrogating the small spaces shared between what-ifs of the past and the realities of the present is where Berkley’s songwriting shines.
Intimate, catchy and approachable, not to mention lyrically sound and candid – listening to this collection of tracks feels somewhat like wandering the sonic halls of the artist’s own personal history. Thanks to Berkley’s refined melodies and storytelling, we are happy to take this stroll through his timeline.
“When I started writing songs for my first full length, I tried writing about my hometown as a place but didn’t have that authority. Thinking about Pueblo so much brought up a lot of old memories and some of them were great to revisit, others I would love to forget. But I learned I couldn’t have my cake and eat it too, so I had to make peace with some things,” says Berkley.
“I learned that everyone has a town inside of them that holds these things — memories of old friends or unresolved conflict, the things that keep you up at night. As much as you’d like to either relive or forget these things, you’re stuck with the memories and feelings. Pueblo is about living with all of that and not pretending like it never happened.”
This is not the first time around the block for Andrew Jones, who is actually a recording engineer whose production and songwriting adventures include recording with former Cher bassist and ASCAP award winner Bob Parr, a power pop collaboration with members of The Offspring, and the “gorgeous” (AV Club) synthesizer project Sound for Bombs. As Berkley, Jones weaves together a wide range of influences, diving in with renewed vigor for writing and performing.
Following a youth loaded with punk and metal bands in his teens and early 20s, Andrew Jones took a chance on the Los Angeles songwriting scene, ultimately finding himself as part of a team of writers tasked with developing early ideas for Michael Jackson’s comeback album. Following Jackson’s death, Jones reevaluated his path in music and went on hiatus, pursuing other academic and literature before returning as Berkley.
As of September 1, Pueblo can be downloaded from Bandcamp or you can grab it on CD and vinyl, the first 100 of which come in a random color (brown, army green, gray, or purple). It also includes exclusive audio from vintage Pueblo KDZA broadcasts and field recordings captured in Pueblo locales significant to Berkley’s life.
Single Credits
Music and lyrics by Andrew Jones aka Berkley
Berkley – vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, piano
Ramon Muzquiz – drums, percussion
Bob Cummins Jr. – piano
Recorded at Echo Lab in Denton, Texas
Engineered, mixed, and mastered by Andrew Jones
Photography and layout by Andrew Jones
Artist photos taken by Juli Williams
Please also enjoy the latest audio-visual offerings from Berkley:
Berkley
Pueblo
(Big Secret Records)
Release Date: September 1, 2023
Tour Dates
Sept. 1 PUEBLO, Colorado – Analogue Records
Sept. 2 MANITOU SPRINGS, Colorado – Lulu’s Upstairs (with Volon Vauban)
Sept. 3 DENVER, Colorado – Skylark Lounge (with Volon Vauban & Nicki Walters)
Sept. 9 PORTLAND, Oregon – Music Millennium
Artist Links
Background Photo Credit: Juli Williams
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