Bernice - Eau de Bonjourno

Figureight Records

£17.26

Format: LP
Catalogue No.: F8021LP
Barcode: 844667051544
Release Date: 5th March 2021
Genre: Pop

TRACKLISTING:
Side A
1. Groove Elation
2. It's me, Robin
3. Big Mato
4. Dry River Bed
5. Empty Cup

Side B
6. Personal Bubble
7. Lone Swan
8. Your Beautiful House
9. Infinite Love
10. We Choose You

LP FORMAT DETAILS: Black Vinyl LP.

Nearly three years on from that release (for Bernice a rapid turnaround by comparison to the seven-year gap between their 2011 debut and Puff), the band return with their third full-length, Eau de Bonjourno, out March 5th from Telephone Explosion and figureeight records. It marks their first collaboration with producer Shahzad Ismaily, the acclaimed multi-instrumentalist who has worked with artists as varied as Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, Iggy Pop, John Zorn, and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. While their genre reconstruction remains distinctly Bernice, Dann’s lyrics bring a newfound focus to storytelling in the present moment, compassionately meeting ourselves where we are, and finding joy in spaces that are familiar but ever changing.

Eau de Bonjourno, according to Dann, “openly plays with the shape of a pop song,” drawing on the band members’ backgrounds in jazz, subverting rhythmic formulas, and resting in grooves that sit just outside of predictable. Instead of letting instruments take

extended solos, the tone is set on opener “Groove Elation” with brief blurts of synthesized sax, patient passages of space, or clusters of beats, tenderly held together by Dann and Williams’ intimate vocals. The album’s sound is experimental in its truest definition, chopped up like musique concrète and then delicately placed back together with the loving touch of a scrapbook collagist.

This project is funded in part by FACTOR, the Government of Canada and Canada’s private radio broadcasters.

This album was created with the generous support of the Ontario Creates.

PRESS/ONLINE:
Stereogum: https://www.stereogum.com/2108932/bernice-groove-elation/music/
NPR: https://www.npr.org/2020/04/29/847852752/play-it-forward-bernices-robin-dann-on-writing-music-with-a-sense-of-surprise?t=1610638204085
The Fader: https://www.thefader.com/2020/12/02/bernice-groove-elation
Pitchfork: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/groove-elation-bernice/
Under The Radar Mag: http://www.undertheradarmag.com/news/bernice_announce_new_album_share_new_song_groove_elation
Kcrw: https://www.kcrw.com/music/shows/todays-top-tune/bernice-groove-elation
Exclaim!: https://exclaim.ca/music/article/bernice_return_with_new_album_eau_de_bonjourno

SOCIALS:
https://twitter.com/saintberenice
https://www.facebook.com/musicbernice
https://www.instagram.com/saintberenice/

OTHER ACTIVITY: https://www.figureightrecords.com/