WATCH AND SHARE “PASSENGER PLANE” HERE
ACCLAIMED NEW ALBUM, PUFF LP: IN THE AIR WITHOUT A SHAPE, OUT NOW VIA ARTS & CRAFTS
TOUR DATES BEGIN NOVEMBER 30
STREAM / BUY PUFF LP: IN THE AIR WITHOUT A SHAPE
"analytical, self-dissecting... a monument to ephemerality" - New York Times
“[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
“among the most interesting and underrated bands making music right now...beautiful, and not to be overlooked” - Exclaim!
“...a delightful access point to the cloudy emotional zones Bernice have always occupied, from a warm place of Snuggie-bound safety.” - NOW Magazine
"...spellbindingly good. It’s like watching an abstract painting form in front of you." - CBC Music
(“Passenger Plane” Video Still )
In May of this year, rising Toronto experimental pop group Bernice released their Polaris Music Prize-longlisted album Puff LP: In the air without a shape – the minimalist follow-up to 2017’s maximalist, Grammy Award winner Shawn Everett produced, Puff EP. The EP garnered critical attention from from its first single “Glue”, which Stereogum lauded as both “gorgeous” and “surprising” and Pitchfork praised, noting that though Bernice’s enigmatic sound is difficult to categorize with traditional genre labels, “reinvention continues to be one of few constants in Bernice’s music, and they’re all the more interesting for it.” The latest offering, “He’s The Moon”, grabbing the attention of the New York Times who proclaimed it to be “a monument to ephemerality.”
Today, Bernice return with the serene, dreamlike video for album track “Passenger Plane” along with the announcement of new North American tour dates. Directed by Ayisha Gariba, the new visual, featuring Alpacas, citrus, bubbles, and lush Canadian greenery, perfectly bottles the phantasmal and carefree atmosphere of the song.
WATCH AND SHARE “PASSENGER PLANE” HERE
"We didn't really have much planned before we started shooting, and although that is usually the recipe for a chaotic shoot, this was the exact opposite. I think everyone wanted the shoot to have a relaxing vibe and it did,” Ayisha Gariba says. “In terms of the vision, all that I really wanted to achieve was a video that was a little weird and so pretty that people would kind of forget how weird it was. I wanted to make sure that no one (including me) was ever taking anything too seriously during the process of making it, and I hope that no one takes it too seriously while watching it either. I just want people to get lost in this magical place with alpacas and bubbles for a few minutes," they continue.
"What could be better than a day with Shelley and her Alpacas?” rhetorically asks Bernice principal singer/songwriter Robin Dann. “She and her love for her long necked and deeply dopey herd were very, very sweet to behold and a perfect setting for a song about the city at night, old heartache resurfacing, and feeling like a speck in the universe. Ayisha brought bubbles and that helped too."
“Sometimes I still feel sad about stuff that happened a long time ago. It’s hard to let go of things, and actually, the pain of experience is something that makes me feel more myself so I am protective of it,” Dann previously explained of the meaning and inspiration behind the song. “Memory can feel like an alien at times, dropping down to overtake me. Biking along Dundas St past a night-time sidewalk celebration. Night time clouds, and the closeness in the city to strangers living full lives in strange parallels with our own,” adding that “the pitched-up vocal was a happy accident!”
BERNICE TOUR DATES:
Sep 29: Toronto, ON - Aga Khan Museum (Nuit Blanche Toronto)
Nov 30: Syracuse, NY - Spark Arts Space
Dec 1: Boston, MA - Lilypad
Dec 3: New Haven, CT - Cafe Nine
Dec 5: Philadelphia, PA - Ortlieb's
Dec 6: Brooklyn, NY - Alphaville
Dec 7: Baltimore, MD - Joe Squared
Dec 8: Washington DC - Vinyl Lounge
Dec 10: Columbus, OH - Rumba Cafe
Dec 11: Bloomington, IN - Bishop
Dec 12: Cincinnati, OH - MOTR
Dec 13: Kalamazoo, MI - Shakespeare’s Pub
Dec 14: Guelph, ON - E Bar
Dec 15: Hamilton, ON - Mills Hardware
+ More Dates To Be Announced Soon
STREAM / BUY PUFF LP: IN THE AIR WITHOUT A SHAPE
Puff LP: In the air without a shape is Bernice tackling pop minimalism; the stripped-down album touches on jazz as much as the enigmatic mix of pop, electronic, and R&B with their unique air of playfulness. Sitting between Enya, Julia Holter, Chairlift, 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 Robin Dann of the new album, which also features new takes on EP standouts “David” and “St Lucia”. “Some people in a room, playing music together.”
Recording the album to tape at Breakglass Studios in Montreal (with the exception of “He’s The Moon” and “Passenger Plane”), 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.
MORE PRAISE FOR BERNICE
“deeply textured, largely experimental songs filled with wondrous and mysterious sounds” - NPR's All Songs Considered
“intricate, dream-like music from deeply emotional lyrics and woozy electronic beats.” - Pitchfork
“Experimental jazz-pop that breathes” - The FADER
“gorgeous, surprising” - Stereogum
“occupies your subconscious, leaving vestiges of melodies and lyrics behind that lie dormant for stretches of time, resurfacing intermittently and maddeningly” - Tiny Mix Tapes
PHOTO CREDIT : Claire Harvie // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES