Kevin Bronson on July 18th, 2016

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The past 18 months have seen Massachusetts native Paul Bergmann get signed to Fairfax Recordings, release his “Romantic Thoughts” EP, enjoy its deserved acclaim, get dropped by Fairfaix Recordings and then set off, he says, “re-establishing my sound on my own.” And as he indicates on his new single “100 Years,” Bergmann is taking the long view: “100 years from now / I won’t be around,” he sings plaintively. Who of us will be? Songs like Bergmann’s melancholy, sepia-toned folk meditations probably will, though; this world-weary missive will appear on Bergmann’s new EP, “Stars and Streams,” out Aug. 26. The EP is a stripped-down affair, mostly vocals and guitar with some gentle keyboard flourishes, all recorded in one day. “It’s sort of a purging of some backlogged material that’s also very relevant in my life right now,” the songwriter says. “‘100 Years’ was written years ago and it took me a while to get a recording of it that felt natural and true to its spirit.” Bergmann’s is a voice seemingly reverberating from the wax decades of folk music, and in “100 Years” he shows he can whistle past the graveyard too.

||| Stream: “100 Years”

||| Live: Paul Bergmann plays tonight at Harvard & Stone and celebrates his EP release with a show Aug. 30 at the Bootleg Theater, joined by Matt Kivel and Bob Villain. Tickets.