Conceptually and melodically inviting in a classic and comforting fashion – songwriter and artist bert. delivers an album full of relatable sentiments and nostalgic pop-rock arrangements, with the powerfully titled Too Young to Feel This Old.
Featuring an instantly immersive pop production and an opening lyric that directly connects to the album’s title, Hour Glass introduces the sound of bert. in a way that’s quickly distinct.
The vocal is mixed rather boldly, a canned chorus effect to reinforce the unmistakable tone and an overall leading performance that’s admittedly niche. Once you get past the volume of the mix though, the songwriting is beautiful, moving from energetic and inspired to mellow and reflective as we roll through to the shoegaze sway of You and I.
After this, the intrigue and brightness of Fighting Giraffes brings back the eighties-esque anthemic energy and design – a passionate delivery and lyrics that feel again brilliantly inspiring. These are the kind of songs that would remix well in any number of settings, and which could easily be covered by a range of different vocalists for varied impact and connection.
Versatility is a strength, bert. clearly a songwriter and fan of music in all of its forms. The Blue Eyed Ticket Girl ignites a pop-punk aura and a scene-by-scene story that’s equally reminiscent of the pop-punk sound of the early 2000s. Then we get the folk warmth and organic groove of I Could Be Just Fine (Tomorrow) – another gorgeously written song, and a welcomed twist of intimate performance and longer-noted singing that really suits the bert. approach to expression. This one is an unexpected highlight, gentle and lyrically fearless in its vulnerability, angst, and realism.
Ten songs make up the full album, the latter half maintaining the intimacy but initially pairing that with a driving groove and smooth production, for Every Day. Then the acoustic strum and descending riff of Rocky’s Song welcome through perhaps the most musically recognisable track of the collection. And still that intimacy, the mellow performance and reflective honesty, stand tall as we delve into another story of love, connection, and heartbreak. There’s even a touch of rap during the latter half – the eclecticism of storyteller bert. expanding further still.
We move into Through It All quite smoothly, the order of these songs feeling aptly indicative of the changing feelings and influences that inspired the very title Too Young to Feel This Old. The stripped-back set-up underlines the realism and purity of the writing, and you can hear the nuances and the ache in bert’s vocal delivery as these lyrics captivate and provoke deeper consideration.
Stick Around picks up the pace slightly, still the acoustic strum keeping the mood thoughtful, before we build up into a structurally mighty pop-rock song with a sublime long-form hook section.
The album wraps up with a live-sounding, unplugged guitar performance that takes you straight to the centre of the story. Here bert. gets personal and genuine again, lines like ‘my diet’s garbage’ resounding in clearly individual yet relatable ways, as the melody and passion evolve and rise up.
There’s something addictively emotional about this self-juxtaposed closing track – the gritty verse moments screaming out on behalf of the tiresome nature of daily self-awareness, the chorus celebrating brightly the opposing sense of joy that’s still consistently within reach. bert. balances scorn and even cursing with clear optimism and poetic colour, and the result is a strangely intoxicating, simple yet striking song, which again proves a memorable highlight from this uniquely compelling album.
If ever the word original should feel completely at ease alongside an independent artist, bert. deserves that title, and the songwriting is wonderful to match.
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