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Central Coast, NSW artist Chelsea Berman released her debut EP, Better Than Ever, in 2018 and since then she’s been steadily releasing catchy country-pop tunes and some heartbreakers too, since as ‘Your Call’ from 2020 (which has a standout vocal and lyric). Her second EP, Can You Just Not, was released in 2021. Now her third, Like Me Better, is out in the world and it’s a six-song cycle that starts with ‘Twenty Something’ and the mixed-up expectations and emotions of that time of life, moving through the devastation of ‘Hurt Like This?’ and on towards the final, and title, track.
It was clear on first listening that there was an arc to these songs and I was interested to talk to Berman about it, and also mindful that the subject matter in ‘Hurt Like This?’, in particular, deserved a conversation if she was up for it. It can’t have been easy for her to talk about but I thank her for discussing it, as the song – and, perhaps, what she has to say about it – will no doubt touch many people.
Our interview mainly takes the form of going through track by track, as I wanted to find out the story behind each song, and although this isn’t an album it feels like a definitive work for Berman, marking both the end of one part of her life and the start of another.
Artists often draw on their own lives for songs (or any art form), which is as it should be: the stories and emotions are right there. Not all artists can make those stories connect with others, and it’s that connection which gives them power. Berman has created six songs that are authentic to her life and which also connect with listeners. That connection also requires courage on the part of the artist, because once they set out to make it they don’t know if it will work – if the audience will be there for them. The audience should be there for Berman with this EP, and her back catalogue, because she deserves them to be.
Listen to Like Me Better on Apple Music
Listen to Like Me Better on Spotify
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