Heart-on-Sleeve Americana Tunes: Sam Bergquist’s WISER THEN
The latest project from Boston based musician Sam Bergquist is an Americana solo project entitled Wiser Then. The four song EP is written and performed by Sam with some additional instrumentation from Finn Bergquist (electric guitar) and Jason Altshuler (bass). A labor of love, Sam’s hands were in every aspect of the release. He produced the EP with Jason Altshuler before sending it off for mastering to the great Jeff Lipton (Wilco, Andrew Bird). While many of his previous projects were as part of large groups and bands, Sam’s latest was about focusing inward on himself:
After a lot of years playing in a band I decided it was time for a new direction. So I stopped playing in the group and dove more deeply into songwriting as a way to express and understand myself a little better, and maybe develop a clearer idea of my role in this world.
With four tracks that blend folk, pop, country, and rock, the old school Americana singer-songwriter vibe of greats like Jackson Browne and Steve Earle is on full display throughout. While there’s not one standout track, all four play together to create a single vision and image of an artist coming of age and looking inside himself and sharing his heart with the listener. Whether the heartfelt pleas of “Darlin” or the look at what’s next in “Do Things Different”, Sam’s brand of heart-on-sleeve singer-songwriter tracks is completely relatable and easy to digest. There’s a reason this recipe has been a tried and true one for decades… and Sam does it as well as anyone.
Check out more from Sam Bergquist at bergquistmusic.com.
