Promises I Kept

Last Life

Don't Die

Eulogy

Wild Ego

Today I'm Gonna Miss Ya

After You

Paradise

Charade, Charade

Hey You, What's New

If Kate Bush was born in Bakersfield, she would cosign on Al Harper’s newest LP, Promises I Kept. 

But even if Kate Bush could identify her influence nestled in the catchy lilts and dips of Oakland-based Al Harper’s stunning and subtly-spooky vocals, so could a constellation of other vocalists: the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Jane Penny of TOPS, and Isabelle Antena (humming some Dolly Parton down a dusk-lit road in Kern County, perhaps). With her own refreshed and personalized look-back to early aughts synthpop meets 70s slow-burn guitar and 60s girl-group drums to keep the beat, Harper’s delicate and direct lyrics rocket through the liminal space that’s neither now nor then. Al Harper is in a dreamy orbit all her own.