‘Blackberry’ is Peter Broderick’s first vocal album since 2015’s 'Colours Of The Night'. It was recorded entirely in his bedroom during the summer of 2019. Broderick supplies all the instrumentation and his wife Brigid Mae Power and his stepson Sean Power contribute backing vocals. Broderick describes it as an album of "Experimental-Bedroom-Folk-Pop".
Exploring wide-ranging themes including family and technology, it is an album that’s both ethereal and eccentric in places. It’s a work that’s bursting with ideas to fuel the senses and yet it remains firmly grounded and accessible.
As Broderick explains:
It is with all seriousness and great reverence that this album is named ‘Blackberry’. In a time when us humans are coming face to face with the impact of our actions on the environment at large, I strongly advocate for engaging with our local landscapes.
When I first became obsessed with foraging edible wild plants a few years back, I wasn’t particularly excited about the humble blackberry, but I would soon return with great passion to this familiar fruit of my youth.
Even in our most urban environments, the gnarled and resilient blackberry vines continue to weave themselves throughout, as if to keep reminding us where we come from.
Highlights on ‘Blackberry’ include the reassuring ‘Stop And Listen’, the touching ‘But’, the whimsical ‘Ode To Blackberry’, the haunting ‘The Niece’, and the environmentally-friendly ‘Wild Food’.
‘Blackberry’ is a pleasant album that’s humorous, intense, honest, and surprisingly good.