'We've Got to Find an Easier Way" Brian Bergeron

After many months of planning, funding, and recording, Brian Bergeron has released his first full length album, "We've Got to Find an Easier Way". ‘Let Me In’, the opening track, sets the mood of the album by giving you some insight that you'll be experiencing something new from the singer-songwriter. Which is a feat he has accomplished fairly early in his career , sooner than most singer songwriters trying to imitate John Mayer or Jason Mraz. This first full-length is exploding with talent, culminated from several EPs under his belt that had him searching for this very sound.

Brian has crafted some new songs and dusted off some old tunes to both please old fans, and draw in new ones. And it succeeds with what feels like an effortless transition into the growing up he’s done musically and lyrically. With tinges of alt-country and summoning the likes of Ryan Adams, Wilco and Josh Rouse, Bergeron bounces from tune to tune and fills them with a bittersweet-but-upbeat mood.

'Gracie', which gives us the line that named the album, sounds like it came right out of a Nashville roadside honky-tonk and conjures images of sawdust floors and two-stepping, while managing to keep a sense of pop to it. It may be THE standout of the album, along with "Tell My Story", for those looking for the tune that could really hook you into his work. The uses of warm piano and lap pedal guitars drive the former feeling home, but the earnest lyrics that speak more of hope than loss, pull the listener into toe-tapping right along with the chorus before you even know the lyrics. This is my personal favorite.

Slower songs like 'Missing' and 'Sisters' still deliver a strong hand and rely more on the 'alt' than 'country'. They're peppered in between faster tunes like a well crafted mixtape, and serve to pull the energy down to the appropriate level to catch your breath from the rockers.

‘I Promise You Relief’ is probably the most heartfelt song on the album. Brain’s ability to harmonize with the strong piano melody is perfect. I get chills when the piano breaks in towards to the end and takes over the song.

Brian Bergeron is starting off in the right direction with a strong, solid release, produced by fellow Boston musician Will Dailey. It should be noted that Dailey does a wonderful job producing this album, as well as guide Brian and merge his own suggestions and talent on the CD. It's a solid blast of music from beginning to end, and shows that Dailey has got some talent in a range beyond just creating his own tunes.

What this album, as a whole, provides what seems to be the culmination of several years of ideas and attempts at getting just what one wants of their music. The tunes are well-crafted, catchy when they need to be, pensive when they should be, and all together well-rounded.

Brian’s approach to funding this CD was by asking for sponsorships from fans, family and friends. It’s a practice that has been done before by artists like Jill Sobule…and a great idea, I might add. It allows fans to really be involved in making the product. And with that involvement they will (hopefully) feel more pride for the album and use that pride to market and promote the album for the artist. Done correctly, it could be a win/win solution.

The closer, "The Restless Release", is a perfect bookend to the cd, with what sounds like a cowboy's dust bowl ballad. It seems to come from a time and place that other bands like Two Gallants have drawn inspiration from, but that hasn’t been really tapped into too heavily yet. Ideas like this are what push Bergeron’s music just past the ‘guy with a guitar’ type of sound. Almost as if calling out, the song ends with the line "...and how I hope you'll come back." If future projects are as good as this one are delivered to his listeners, I'm sure he'll have no problem getting that to happen.

Check out more on Brian Bergeron at any of the following:
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