The Bergamot - “Far Out”
Nathaniel Paul Hoff and Jillian Speece met when they were in high school, where they immediately began making music together. The duo comprise the act known to the world as The Bergamot and have recently released Far Out, an album consisting of ten wondrous indie tracks that span the frequencies of multiple genres, including folk, pop, and rock.
We will get back to the music in a minute– we would first like to mention a few of their accolades, including going on tour with OneRepublic, only to have it canceled by COVID. However, what has piqued our interest the most is their documentary, State of the Unity, which was revealed earlier this year. Having won the Marion Herrman Excellence in Filmmaking Award at the Sedona International Film Festival and “Best Documentary” by the Art Film Awards, we have now added it to our long queue of films to watch as our half of the world trudges into the winter months– perfect weather to pile on the music docs.
For this blog entry, we have settled on the title track of their record, “Far Out.” And speaking of the winter months and the oftentimes unavoidable seasonal depression, this song focuses on “finding blue skies and brightness even in the darkest of times.” Though this could relate to most of the world, it is a glimmer of hope onto which one can cling until March or April or forever. Everything about the intro to “Far Out” whispers folk music, except the beat, which is uplifting enough to later make the choruses have more of a pop feel. The duo’s vocals, together, are perfection. They take turns, they double each other, they harmonize– it’s the perfect match and it is very difficult to beat a good male/female duet. And that is a hill on which we will die. Have a listen for yourself:
Once you have finished listening to “Far Out,” you will, no doubt, peruse the rest of the cuts on this record. Our advise would be to start it at the beginning, with “Neon Sunrise,” and just let the album play through to the end, then start it all over again. This thing is a treasure.
-TM