With a huge career in his bag, broadway performances, 4 solo albums, professionally studying jazz in new york…Alec Berlin has already made a huge name for himself, solidifying his high stature in the music industry…making a name as both a professional and a creative.
Alec Berlin has been surprising audiences all over the world with his unique music, both original and performances of award winning broadway shows…Alec is a household name with a bright musical career and an even brighter future awaits him.
Moving to Brooklyn, New York 25 years ago, Alec completed his Masters Degree in Jazz Performance at Boston’s New England Conservatory, shortly after he found himself playing on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical “Come From Away”….which would have been already a huge success for any musician, but Alec moved on ahead, continued his brilliant work which found him sharing the stage with icons like Elton John, James Taylor, Ben Folds, Kenny Wheeler, and Rufus Wainwright.
Alec also has been releasing his own music…where does he get the time to do all of that?
He is an absolute example to go by, he’s literally following his calling in life, doing amazing professional work on stage, in the studio and on his own terms with his own solo work.
Alec has already released several projects, including his debut record “Crossing Paths” in 2000, followed up with a couple of songs, “Beauty” & “Grazing at the Trough”, both during 2007, then in 2012 he released “Innocent Explanations”.
Now in 2023, Alec released his album “Space Punk and Other Junk”, which we’ll be exploring today…so why don’t we jump into our space suit and into our rockets to go and discover what “Space Punk and Other Junk” has in store for us?
Before we lift off…we need to address the very nature of the album, which is a very unique premise…it’s an album with 12 voiceless songs, 12 song based music tracks that doesn’t have any singers…it was a challenge that Alec wanted to win over, so the 12 songs in the album are song-based compositions but doesn’t have a singer’s voice…he wanted to make the music literally sing….we’ll see how Alec faced that challenge.
Ready for liftoff?
Liftoff!
“Space Punk and Other Junk” starts out with “Space Punk”…
It’s a pop/rock song…I will use the word song, because Alec absolutely nailed creating a singer-less instrumental song here….and I will continue to use the words “singer-less” and “song” together in this article
This song is an energetic start for our flight into the world Alec created.
Composition-wise, the song is fresh, actually very fresh…something that will instantly hook the ears of the audience with its amazing scale changes, melodic lines and upbeat tempo.
Going further into the album, we find “Man’s Best Friend”…starting as a pop song, shortly to go literally into overdrive mode and into full rock territory…epic rock guitar riffs, huge drums and melodic lead guitars…after midway Alec transitions into a poppy-funky territory…all is perfect.
“Beat Confabulator”….is the unique name of the third track in the album…
…as the songs that came before, the guitar is singing…and it’s a more rocky territory here.
Riffs, melodic bridges and once again a fresh take on singerless songs.
The guitar solo in the second half…you’ll wish it never ended.
With some jazz guitar work too…this one is an absolute treat.
Going further into the album we reach “LaNoise” a country pop song that came at the right time in the album to chill the audience during this journey…relaxing and mind-clearing.
Going deeper we reach “Minir Maad”…a pop/rock and very melodic song, reminiscent of 80s/90s pop rock music…it brought back many memories, the music and the instrument effects choices are perfectly nostalgic.
…even further in the album, at the midpoint of it actually we reach “Patchen Avenue”.
Once again taking us into the country/pop territory…the melodic guitar work here is so pure…both sounding and also on an emotional level.
…moving past the midpoint of the album, we get to “Life in the Bog”.
A deeply storytelling song…with a cinematic intro…and a rock-infused with ambient mysterious melodic parts…this has to be paired with some visuals for the absolute maximum impact.
Moving past the Bog, we find the once again nostalgic realm, presented with the next song “What I wish I had Said”….which feels like…driving on a Tokyo highway at night, passing al exits, just going as far as we can to explore and both the world and ourselves…I can’t put it in musical terms, but this is the emotion that the music created within me.
After some time on the extraplanetary Japanese highway, we eventually took an exit and we found ourselves at “Iota”…a bold melodic presence can be sensed strongly here, it’s more mellow and full with character…once again, on the nostalgic side.
Melodies are beautiful, lead guitar solos are shining.
Going past this…we reach “President’s Day” , a rock track with some country infused in it…
The main guitar riff is iconic and shouldn’t be missed.
…you know what is missing at this point? A ¾ waltz/rock fusion….no worries, take this “Flatbush Jaywalk”…it’s full of storytelling, unique melodies and high gain riffs…the guitar solo here is extremely artful.
…we’re almost at the edge of the universe…at the final song “ROYGBIV”…a more technical pop/rock song with strong melodic aura, it’s the perfect goodbye for this journey, it’s maybe Alec’s way of saying “good ride, but there is more in the future, hang on tight”.
“Space Punk and Other Junk” is a unique album that doesn’t really come by frequently…the closest example I could ever think of is Nick Johnston, so if you like Nick’s music, you’ll be blown away with Alec’s album.
…this was an absolute joyful ride, going through the end of space and time with Alec Berlin’s “Space Punk and Other Junk”
…this album couldn’t be recommended enough, for any, literally any music lover and enthusiast…and basically anyone who wants pure and perfect instrumental music in multiple styles.
Alec, you got yourself a new fan here…we wish you all the best in life, you’re awesome and you make awesome music…can’t wait for your new adventure that we are sure you’ll expertly craft, and for us to explore.
Cheers!
