Bern & The Brights
Bern & The Bright from Montclair in the USA are a four piece, made up of – Bernadette Malavarca -(Vocals, Percussion, Electric Guitar and Drums), Catherine McGowan (Vocals, Percussion and Acoustic Guitar), Shawn Fafara (Bass) and Jose Ulloa (Drums)
Superb, is a decent way to start the review. Multi-instrumentation, synchopation, well crafted compositions, I think that sums up Bern & The Brights, without actually doing them justice.
On donning headphones, I was met with vitality, freshness and fun, all the hallmarks that makes music worth the time. Utilising a plethora of instrumentation, Bern & The Brights are able to cross a plethora of genre. One minute Blue Grass, the next reggae, with no loss of a distinct sense of a an invigorating shower, as the construction keeps the sound totally relevant. I revel in the vocal, which if spoken I imagine would drive my ears to tinnitus. Have I ever mentioned how I get driven to distraction by ‘drawl’ and hysterical American, well if not, now I have. Bernadette and Catherine manage to capture the mood of the out-put with vocals which enhance the ensemble.
This is music which naturally expects a rolling shoulder as they take the listener on a merry-go-round. Whilst unmistakable sounding, they are able to explore arcs of music, always delivering a sense of verve and extroversion. Underlying it all there is a sense, perhaps it is just me, of the upright Christian moral compass which for some reason, I cannot fathom, doesn’t drive me in to a rage.
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