The Bergamot
Tones
Release Date: February 11, 2016 (available now)
Label: Both Records
Alternative rock is such a wide category nowadays in terms of what artists have been producing. You can have something very ambient and funky like The 1975, or you can have something with a more folk-based and roots rock emphasis like The Bergamot. The Brooklyn-based husband-and-wife duo The Bergamot released the next chapter in their discography back in February, entitled Tones.
The album is an amalgamation of a number of influences, ranging from folk, to blues rock, to modern alternative rock. It's a nice mix of songs, and you don't get the same track twice which makes for a unique listen. Clear influences are heard from artists like Dylan, Floyd, and Dave Matthews. Maybe not directly, but there are distinct overtones that hint to influences like these throughout the collective twelve tracks.
Much like solo artists, I'm always fascinated by duos because the songwriting process changes up a bit more than usual. While other collaborators may be brought in, at the core it's two people bringing out the worlds within each other and translating those worlds into an audible format. All bands do this, but it's always a bit more fascinating to watch artists do it when there are less and less people in the equation. Tones is an impressive and enjoyable release.
This has been another Shameless Promotion.