On his 2021 debut as the Natvral, Tethers, former The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart leader Kip Berman pivoted from that band’s gleaming, dreamy indie-pop toward more of a Dylan-esque folk-rock sound. He’ll keep pursuing that vibe on Summer Of No Light, his second Natvral LP.

In a message to his Bandcamp followers, Berman writes:

These songs live somewhere between the climate crisis of 1816, the climate crisis of now, and the climate crisis of the heart. You might say it’s a gothic record—but the house isn’t haunted. The ghosts moved out years ago, but I still get their mail from time to time.

I wrote much of this album in the early days of lockdown. After putting my young children to bed, I spent many a late night in the basement with my guitar and let my mind wander to the places where I could no longer go. Initially, a lot of the songs were about getting as far away from the reality of my moment as possible. Later I realized, half of ’em were about loving just where I was – home.

The lead single from said album is the provocatively titled opening track “Lucifer’s Glory.” More from Berman on that, via a press release:

Don’t let the title fool you — It’s not a full throated “Hail Satan,” but it is full throated. I suppose I could’ve called it “Paradise Lust.” When you hit rock bottom, but wish you could fall deeper – when you’re proud to lose, ‘cuz you know the kind of people who win- when only what’s missing remains… Sure, It’s perverse, crushing, and wrong. But it’s also alright. There were other options, but only one choice. That’s Lucifer’s Glory.

Listen below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Lucifer’s Glory”
02 “Carolina”
03 “Summer Of Hell”
04 “The Stillness”
05 “A Glass Of Laughter”
06 “Stephanie Don’t Live Here Anymore”
07 “Your Temperate Ways”
08 “Wait For Me”
09 “Wintergreen”

Summer Of No Light is out 9/1 via Dirty Bingo. Pre-order it here.