Cleaning up my life
Blowing the dust off of some feelings
On my phone at night
Finding what I thought I deleted
Old promises of youth no one had strength to be keeping
I wasn't looking for the truth but can't help but see it
It wasn't your fault, maybe
It was mine
I've been wondering lately
Was it me the whole time
You got a crush on my crush, that sucks
You wanna fall in love
I wonder what's your fucking rush
Or why you're acting tough
Do you feel the same
In the moonlight where we all became
Players in a losing game
Do you feel ashamed
Pueblo nights
Everything's alright
I don't wanna fight
Or place the blame
I walked you to your car but don't
Wanna see you go
We're making out against your door
I wish I brought a coat
Would it feel the same
If we never met until today
Would we still say all those awful things
Would I steal your name
Pueblo nights
Everything's alright
I don't wanna fight
Or place the blame
I live by the fair
Would you meet me there
I don't really care
Who you hate
Could it be the same as the day we met to celebrate
The love we felt but stowed away
Could you forget my name
Pueblo nights
Everything's alright
I don't wanna fight
Or place the blame
Pueblo nights
Everything's alright
I don't wanna fight
Or place the blame
If I see you for the holidays
I won't hold a grudge
If you're hanging on what can I say
I never owed you much
I wanna talk about it but don't know what to say
I think I forget about it but then I doubt it and it never goes away
There's a memory of a door that I open to greet you
Your eyes telling me more than your heart would ever let you
The memories of then don't feel old
Like crying in your car
or standing in the road
kissing
What's behind you is closer than it appears
Future facing staring backward in the mirror
What is left of what you love but always thought you'd lose
How tight a grip is tight enough to squeeze and leave no bruise
You deleted all your posts but your avatar's still there
You're in some kitchen eating pasta with someone who doesn't care
The memories of then don't feel old
like driving in the dark
or walking in the snow wishing
What's behind you is closer than it appears
Future facing staring backward in the mirror
Right here, this spot on the map
on summer vacation
that year, remember that
when the oldies used to play on a different station
There are things I wanna show you
But I don’t want you to see
There are things I wanna tell you
But I don’t want you to talk to me
I don’t want you near
But I wish you were here
Please understand me before the end of the world
The end of the world
You don’t have to if you don’t wanna wait
You can leave before Fiesta Day
Go before you get stuck behind the parade
You’ll get your chance to say what you wanna say
I don’t wanna be next to you
But I miss being close
I’m not searching for any clues
But I never lost hope
I never lost hope
I never lost hope
I’m so afraid to be loved
The time I told you that, it’s all I think of
Hell below, God above
Light the Virgin Mary for the boy that I was
Feels like everything you’d ever want is here
When someone leaves it’s like they disappear
I feel for you but I don’t wanna go back
I look like an asshole cuz you can’t understand
You’re gonna lose that fear
When the future’s clear
Rainbows in the water
Things are different here
They’re different here
They’re different here
Gaining momentum in the north Texas scene with radio play, best-of mentions, and buzz among the area’s new music evangelists, Berkley, the musical moniker of songwriter Andrew Jones, was poised to take the stage in clubs in support of three singles and his imminent full-length debut, Pueblo. As with all plans in 2020, his next steps were postponed.
After being tapped to engineer or produce a few emerging artists’ records, Berkley plotted a move to Portland, Oregon (with a fruitful layover in his hometown of Pueblo, Colorado). All said, opportunities and choices delayed any further material from Berkley - until now.
Finally settled in his new city, Berkley has re-emerged with album-ready mixes of the songs he used to test the Texas waters, a new track, “Email,” and a live recording from an intimate secret performance in his hometown.
All of this makes up Love Notes, a seven-track EP that gives fans something fresh, presents new listeners with a primer in Berkley so far, and that captures the artist live for the first time.
The title “Love Notes” sums up what’s kept Berkley going through the weirdness - this is more than a sentimental retrospective of feelings and scenes from his youth in Pueblo. Berkley is grappling with honest reevaluations of memories and happenings during those years.
In “Email,” Berkley explores reminders of the idealistic, if not naive, agreements made with a past lover. He quickly learns the way moving forward necessitates looking back, but only so far: “Cleaning up my life/blowing the dust off of some feelings/On my phone at night/finding what I thought I deleted/Old promises of youth no one had strength to be keeping/I wasn’t looking for the truth but can’t help but see it.”
It’s a common theme among the tracks on Love Notes - “Pueblo Nights” wonders what would be different if old friends didn’t grow apart, and if things had to change for everyone to grow up. “Oldies” flips through scenes from past relationships like a slideshow, wishing for what’s left of good memories to heal and for bad times to be forgotten. “Fiesta Day” reimagines the last conversation with someone close from the standpoint of one who lived through getting it wrong the first time.
As a preamble to Berkley’s debut full-length, Love Notes presents an artist swimming through time and space - at the end of a cross-country journey, facing the start of a new chapter, and in the midst of defining who he once was and may still be.
credits
released December 9, 2022
Vocal, Guitar, Bass (1, 3-4) Keyboards: Berkley
Vocal (3): Aryanna Gil
Bass (2): Jasper Johnson
Pedal steel (3): Luke Schneider
Piano (1-3): Bob Cummins Jr.
Drums: Ramon Muzquiz
1-4 recorded at The Nest and Echo Lab, Denton, TX and Big Secret Studios, Portland, OR
Engineered, mixed, and mastered by Andrew Jones
Additional recording (3) at Huge Planet, Nashville, TN by Jake Davis
5-7 recorded at Analogue Books, Records & Bar, Pueblo, CO, 12-2-2021
Photography: Lauren Carey
Cover art: @glitchybb
Layout and design: Dan Gremminger
Born and raised in Pueblo, Colorado, now residing in Portland, Oregon Berkley took to the American songbook and pop
mainstays early, recording himself at 5 years old on a boombox singing along to The California Raisins and early 90s chart toppers.
Now, he composes laid back pop grooves driven by shaky electric guitar tones and chiming keyboards....more
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