Over the years, Connecticut-based songwriter Paul Bergmann has carved out his own niche as the only folk songwriter brave enough to sing about pissing in hands and fucking the wind. With 2023’s No Masters in Paradise LP often coming across as too aggressively psychedelic (or simply too aggressive) to be classified as folk-rock and too earnest to fall into the tradition of overly aestheticized gothic-folk, his new EP Long Island Sounds evens the keel a bit with a more uniform feel across its five tracks. Given his cool baritone and the graduation to a full-band sound, there’s credible comparisons to The National to be made here before that band was co-opted by Big Dad.
Naturally, the EP’s “full-band sound” comes from a full band backing Bergmann on these recordings—a modification to his typical recording process inspired by the addition of drummer Cameron Brown and bassist Scott Lawrence to his live shows for Paradise. “We recorded this EP with Justin Pizzoferrato at Sonelab Studio to capture the sound of our three-piece live band, which I formed with my two friends,” he shares. “Through trying to translate an—for all intents and purposes—overproduced album with just three people, the sound of the band became its own thing. I knew Justin was the person to record us, because I think he really understands the importance of a band’s ‘true sound’ being conveyed. And in this instance, the rule was live, no overdubs.”
Recorded over the course of one day last July with the engineering icon known for his work with Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth (not to mention a personal favorite: California X’s Nights in the Dark), the EP features re-recorded versions of two previously released tunes as well as three brand-new tracks. “The title is kinda taking the piss,” Bergmann adds of the name Long Island Sounds. “Everyone hates Connecticut, but it’s as much on the Long Island Sound as New York.”
You can stream the whole thing below a day early, and pre-order it here.
