Just a handful of releases into their relatively brief career, Seattle jangle pop combo the Berries have already amassed enough extras to arrive at their first rarities compilation. Essentially the solo vehicle of singer/songwriter Matt Berry, the Berries' melodic fusion of laid-back country-inflected indie pop has so far graced two full-lengths, 2018's Start All Over Again and 2019's
Berryland, along with some early demos. Throughout 2020, Berry shifted direction and adopted the singles route, releasing artful stand-alone songs that shied away from his retro country-rock influences in favor of a more experimental, sometimes synth-aided power pop sound. Ostensibly serving as the project's third album,
Throne of Ivory (Singles & B-Sides) comprises those singles along with unused material from both the
Berryland sessions and a forthcoming full-length. Perhaps not unexpectedly, the 2020 singles are more engaging than the B-sides, a somewhat misleading term given that the latter material has never seen release until now. Among the standouts are the lush and dreamy "Saturday Music" and the ballad "A Hymn That Only I Know." Recorded and performed solely by Berry, these cuts and others, like the sprawling "High Noon on the Gold Plain," are exquisitely crafted and play on his strength not only as a composer but as a multi-instrumentalist. The set's second half has its moments as well, particularly the jagged, droning closer "Doom," but its front-loaded nature makes
Throne of Ivory feel like the compilation that it is, while the newer tracks indicate future riches to come. ~ Timothy Monger