life is too short to listen to old music
Bernice
Bernice
country: Canada
genre: Alternative, Experimental
styles: Toronto Indie, Soul, Indie, R&B, Art Pop
No Effort To Exist
Single
Reviews and Comments
With Cruisin’, their second album for Telephone Explosion, Toronto’s Bernice distils their playful sense of composition resulting in the most affecting collection of their young career. Across fifteen tracks, a special kind of contemporary, jazz-inflected pop unfolds, miraculous for being both fun and musically adventurous, all in the name of emotional resonance. Each groove in the bassbin is matched by a little scratch at the listener’s heartstrings. The album was recorded at home with Phil Melanson (Sam Gendel, Andy Shauf) and Thom Gill (Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Joseph Shabason), led by songwriter and vocalist Robin Dann (Martha Wainwright) and producer Matthew Pencer, with additional contributions from longtime members Dan Fortin and Felicity Williams (Bahamas) being captured remotely.
Throughout their eleven years as a group, working at the intersections of several scenes and spotlights (many of which begin and end at Toronto’s beloved Tranzac Club), Bernice have developed an idiosyncratic musical language that feels immediately inviting and wonderfully refreshing. The group’s two previous releases, Eau De Bonjourno (2021) and Puff: In The Air Without A Shape (2018) received generous nods from both Stereogum and Pitchfork, who described the music as “unusually mesmerizing”. With the songcraft a little more crystalline and the vulnerability notched up, Cruisin’ feels like the right record to open Bernice up to a much wider audience.
latest releases
LP
Cruisin'
out on April 28, 2023
via Telephone Explosion Records
Single
Second Judy
out on April 24, 2023
via Telephone Explosion Records
Single
Underneath My Toe
out on February 21, 2023
via Telephone Explosion Records
Single
It's Me Robin (New Chance Remix)
out on March 24, 2022
via Telephone Explosion Records
Single
Personal Bubble (Sam Gendel Remix)
out on February 22, 2022
via Telephone Explosion Records
Single
Big Mato (Kalbells Remix)
out on January 18, 2022
via Telephone Explosion Records
