The long-running alt rock group Cracker has taken on a bold task with its latest LP, Berkeley to Bakersfield. As its title suggests, it’s a California-centric musical journey that spans the hip Bay Area to the desert environs of the Central Valley. The record, a two-disc affair, captures each area with a particular style: the former with a “punk” and “garage” oriented rock with “funky undertones”, the latter with a twangy country style reminiscent of the famed Bakersfield sound. Below you can stream “Waited My Whole Life”, a tune from the Berkeley portion of the journey.
David Lowery, one of the founding members of Cracker, says of the material on Berkeley to Bakersfield, “On the earliest Cracker albums, we played around with those soul elements that occasionally sneak into rock. You know what I mean, the male/female chorus and answers. Think The Pips or Sly and the Family Stone. We hadn’t done that in awhile, but since we cut this track with he Kerosene Cracker rhythm section, Davey Faragher (Bass and vocals) and Michael Urbano (Drums) we played around with the stylings of our first two albums”.
Berkeley To Bakersfield is out on December 9th through 429 Records.