A lot has changed for Kip Berman in the past couple of years. Since recording the last Pains Of Being Pure At Heart album, the lead singer and songwriter of the New York indie-pop band has moved to New Jersey, become a father, and started recording new music under a new name: the Natvral. “I wanted to pick up my guitar and sing songs in a natural way, without all the things about music that aren’t music,” Berman explains. He doesn’t see the project as a solo project or a side project, just an outlet for new music that feels connected to his new life.

Inspired by folk-rock icons like Richard and Linda Thompson and Leonard Cohen — a cover of the latter’s “Suzanne” closes out the Natvral’s EP — the project finds Berman exploring a more open, intimate, and lyrically candid side of his songwriting, and appropriately, the debut EP is called Know Me More. Produced, engineered, and mixed by Andy Savours and recorded live in single takes, the EP is out next month via Kanine Records, and today, Berman is sharing lead single “Know Me More.”

The tender, beautifully bruised ballad features vocals from Jess Weiss of Fear Of Men, one of Berman’s longtime friends and collaborators. “Lie awake and wish me harm/ By morning all your venom’s gone/ But the poison’s still in me,” Berman sings, Weiss’ voice intertwining with his. “The clouds gather round my head/ Take the form that sailors dread/ I swear to you I love you still/ I’m ill but I will live.” Listen to “Know Me More” below.

TOUR DATES:
09/22 Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Flea Record Fair*
09/25 Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere^
10/01 Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade Records*
10/02 Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right&
10/03 Ithaca, NY @ Ithaca Underground
10/05 Washington, DC @ Songbyrd%
10/06 Princeton, NJ @ Princeton Record Exchange*
10/07 New Brunswick, NJ @ In The West
10/08 Philadelphia, PA @ Creep Records*
10/09 Baltimore, MD @ Venue TBA
10/10 Philadelphia, PA @ Everybody Hits$
10/11 Syracuse, NY @ Spark Art Space%
10/12 Providence, RI @ Dusk%
10/13 Windham, CT @ Willimantic Records*
10/13 Northampton, MA @ Red Cross%
10/14 Boston, MA @ Deep Thoughts JP*
10/14 Boston, MA @ Dorchester Art Space%

*Free In-store Performance
^ w/ Graham Coxon
& w/ Hatchie
%w/ Tallies
$ w/ Living Hour

The Know Me More EP is out 10/5 on Kanine. Pre-order it here.