PUFF LP : IN THE AIR WITHOUT A SHAPE DUE OUT MAY 25 VIA ARTS & CRAFTS
LISTEN AND SHARE “GLUE” HERE
“Robin Dann and her cast of musicians (who play for Owen Pallett and DIANA, among others) weave electronic dramas that balance tension and release, passion and intellectualism with an ease that betrays their collective experience and quality.” Exclaim! #1 EP of 2017
"[Bernice] create a mesmerizing sound... so much so that it is easy to hit repeat on the track and you only realize a handful of hours later that's all you've been listening to." - Noisey
“carefree and expansive experimental pop… we need music like this more than ever.” - Stereogum (Best Songs Of The Week)
“Bernice's intricate pop music is clearly made by people who have honed their skills to the point of a Tungsten needle.” - NOW
“deeply textured, largely experimental songs filled with wondrous and mysterious sounds” - NPR Music, Bob Boilen
PHOTO CREDIT : Claire Harvie // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Following the release of 2017’s maximalist Puff EP produced by Grammy Award-winner Shawn Everett, Toronto-based experimental pop group Bernice have announced their minimalist follow up, Puff LP: In The Air Without A Shape, with which the band continues its enigmatic exploration of pop, jazz, R&B, and more. Sitting between Enya, Julia Holter, and Deerhoof where clear vocal melodies fly kites over spare arrangements, Bernice’s new album attempts to mimic the playful intimacy of the band’s live show.
“Our goal was to capture how we really sound,” says songwriter/vocalist Robin Dann of the new album, which also features new recordings of EP tracks “David” and “St Lucia”. “Some people in a room, playing music together.”
Recording the album at Breakglass Studios in Montreal, the band fell in love with the open spaciousness of the studio and how much it allowed them to connect whilst performing. “The vocal booths have sightlines to the band room through windows. We did live takes of each song to tape. We could look at each other, try different things, mostly we got each song in a few takes,” said Dann of the recording process.
Nothing is more indicative of the band’s appreciation for space than the lead single, “Glue” – a breezy song that could float away at any moment. “This one feels to me like an upward spiral,” Dann explains of the track. “I wrote it about the freedom of new love. The outro is co-opted from another song I co-wrote with Felicity (Williams) and Thom (Gill) for one of our side projects (Bliss Gloss – which is an outlet for us write the songs we’re not allowed to write in ‘real life’) and it has become such an important part of “Glue” – it’s a landing pad of feelings, fruits, colours, flowers. Solid ground, finally.”
LISTEN AND SHARE “GLUE” HERE
Multi-instrumentalist and longtime Owen Pallett collaborator Thom Gill plays synth bells and doo-ahs next to Colin Fisher's creaky alien chatter on guitar while Dan Fortin and Phil Melanson groove along. Dann's melody unfolds like “an upward spiral” as she sings "All in all among your eyes and breath, your hair wraps ‘round your head like a tangly crown. This dream is hard to awaken from."
Vocalist Felicity Williams' harmonies punctuate Dann's poetic query, ‘And like the water you bring, we hold onto things. Oh, but isn't it a wonder when we can realise we walk among the living?’ The song changes pace at the 3/4 mark and finds its form in a lounge-y, R&B groove. Dann and Williams list off various fruits, and feelings, and colours like the innocent, wide-eyed lyricism of Smile-era Brian Wilson, ‘Can we sing together, wanna be free forever, if we let it’.
PRAISE FOR BERNICE
"[Bernice's] playful sense of musicianship and talent for crafting excellent melodies has the group looking the like one of the most interesting bands out of Toronto right now." - Pigeons & Planes
“carefree and expansive experimental pop… we need music like this more than ever.” - Stereogum (Best Songs Of The Week)
“charming, experimental pop” - Pitchfork
“A real standard of musicality and musicianship right here… Love this” - Zane Lowe
“intricate, dream-like music from deeply emotional lyrics and woozy electronic beats.” - Pitchfork
“from the realm of lowkey bedroom pop to a strobe lit dancefloor - The FADER
PUFF LP TRACKLIST
1. Glue
2. Passenger Plane
3. David
4. One Garden
5. He's The Moon
6. St Lucia
7. Boat
PERFORMANCE DATES
Mar 29 - Montreal, QC - l’Escogriffe Bar Spectacle (event listing)
Apr 21 - Toronto, ON - 918 Bathurst / Wavelength (tickets)
MORE ABOUT BERNICE
Born to a musical family, the daughter of a symphony harpist and the former Toronto Symphony Orchestra's principal violist, and a graduate of Goldsmiths' MA in Music, Dann's background, formal training, and experimental sensibilities developed into Bernice's sparse arrangements and pop-minded songwriting, often following curious and unexpected paths.
Bernice’s members and collaborators including longtime Owen Pallett collaborator Thom Gill (keyboard/sampler) as well as Colin Fisher (guitar), Daniel Fortin (bass), Philippe Melanson (drums), and Felicity Williams (supporting vocals). All are professional musicians from Toronto's music community and members of Owen Pallett, DIANA, John Southworth, Bahamas, Martha Wainwright, The Barr Brothers, and many others.
Bernice have been performing actively since late 2010 and have released one full-length album (what was that, 2011), an EP (when I know how to climb, 2013), and a “cassingle” in 2015, all released independently. Bernice’s 2017 breakout Puff EP on Arts & Crafts was praised by Pitchfork (“intricate, dream-like music from deeply emotional lyrics and woozy electronic beats”), NPR ("deeply textured, largely experimental songs filled with wondrous and mysterious sounds"), Stereogum (Best EPs of 2017), Exclaim (#1 EP of 2017), Pigeons and Planes (“one of the most interesting bands out of Toronto right now”), The FADER, Noisey, Zane Lowe, and more.