Premiere: Paul Bergmann, ‘Bored by the Changes and Living’

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Paul Bergmann (Photo by Alex Legolvan)
Paul Bergmann (Photo by Alex Legolvan)

Rumpled diarist Paul Bergmann (he does not favor the descriptor “singer-songwriter”) is the kind of guy who could sing the phone book and make it sound like an existential statement. His Americana noir goes beyond sad-sack, whiskey-soaked rumination, the hum of his almost pugilistic lyrics wry and sobering and more than a little bit challenging.

The Massachusetts native did his time in L.A., releasing music as part of an ill-fated relationship with Fairfax Recordings, and last year he decamped to Maine, his new full-length written and recorded. It’s titled “Nothing at All, and coming just eight months after an eight-song release he called an EP (“Stars and Streams”), it’s really something.

Billed as “a waltz from Los Angeles to Maine, across Middle America and the plains and cities in between,” the album was produced mostly by L.A. avant-garde composer Brendan Eder, who adds substantial sonic depth. In fact, “Nothing at All” is hardly a folk record at all. “Coffee, Wine, Water, Tea” (next verse: “These fluids mean so much to me”) has a gentle electronic backdrop; “Where Were You?” and the title track rise amid tasteful orchestral flourishes; “Lo” is five minutes of slow-motion drama.

Then there is “Bored by the Changes and Living,” which was produced by Gus Seyffert. Here, Bergmann decries a “cancer of mindlessness / rendered by collective consciousness / part of a cultural choice,” which, as three lines go, is ironclad evidence he was paying attention when he lived in L.A. Oh, and there’s guitar. “I really wanted a rippin’ solo from Stephen Heath somewhere on the record, and this is the track,” Bergmann says. “My live band plays on the track, and it’s a pretty honest mix from just a few live takes. The vibes were so good that day. Lyrically, I’m just runnin’ my mouth. The whole thing feels less heavy than a lot of my old stuff. I wish I had more songs like this one.”

||| Stream: “Bored by the Changes and Living”

||| Also: Stream “Coffee, Wine, Water, Tea” and “Nothing at All”

||| Also: Watch the video for “Nothing at All”

||| Live: Paul Bergmann plays an early show (5 p.m. doors) Saturday the Echo, joined by Bart Davenport, Dimber and Samira Winter. Tickets.

||| Previously: “100 Years,” “Wishing Song” (with Emily Kokal of Warpaint)