The House lights go down, the audience buzzes with anticipation.  Cue music!  The opening theme, Where Do You Want to Go Today, starts off the act with vibrant energy.  Late Night Show, the new EP from Bernee, rocks with rumbling piano, classic trap-set drum, builds with rolling snare, sweet bass, great vocals, some string surprises, and no annoying talk show host one-liners.  The six new songs were hand-picked by the band from a live set repertoire of over 60 songs.  The result is a broad sample of Bernee’s abilities, from beautiful ballads, to ecstatic rock songs, offering a little style for everyone in the audience.

The harmonious vocals in Bernee are remarkable for their blending and precise timing.  Throughout the show, in songs such as Spinning Wheel; if it wasn’t for the lyrics indicating different perspectives, I don’t think I would have caught on that it was actually Matt Goldberg and Nicole Weepers alternating verses, only to join together for the chorus with Iain Gillaney.  Nicole’s raw alto balances so well with Matt’s tender tenor that one becomes lost in seamless transitions, causing the lyrics in many of their songs to take on multiple states of awareness.  Although, the slides do not resolute in tune quite fast enough for my ear, their style is still irresistible.  One is simultaneously in the shoes of many people all interacting with each other; some seeking love, some remorseful of loves lost, always then returning to a sort of omnipresent bravery embodied by the spirit of the positive advice always offered after each scenario.  The lyrics are powerful and communicate their emotions well to the listener.  Often, it was difficult to write because I would find myself recalling old difficult relationships, odd times that threw me deep into introspection and far from the article.  I even got upset a few times!  However, I never felt lost or abandoned to the whims of the skeletons in my closet, as there was always something in the music reaffirming to pull me back, put those worries at ease, and get me inspired again.  The straightforward stories poise questions to some of our simplest actions that we take for granted.  Perhaps the biggest overall message is awareness of the moment, actually understanding what people are feeling as it happens, instead of distorted hindsight.  The simplicity is deceptive, yet the universal applicability is wisdom of the ages.  For Bernee, there is no happiness without sadness, no victory without struggle, and that is the way it should be; Optimistic, yet realistic.

The ballads on Late Night Show are particularly wonderful.  Perfect orchestration takes the imagination away to a place of solace and remembrance.  The range of careful treatment for delicate notes, to the strong driving power in On My Way ranks Matt Goldberg’s piano up there with great alternative rock bands like Coldplay.  Matt’s vocal range is, in fact, far more consistent and higher then Chris Martin’s- or earlier Ben Folds Five.  Roll On, the last song on the EP, is a stunning masterpiece.  It is the kind of work you’d expect from a band after decades of work.  It is a simplistic melody, but that is the basis for blooming violin and cello parts, and blossoming vocal harmonies.  With subtle grace, Iain Gillaney’s electric bass begins weaving in an out of the string crescendo and what was once a room of a few great artists, suddenly sounds like strings in a concert hall.  Each band member a maestro balladeer, all welling up to the refraining roll on, roll on…  Roll On is my guilty pleasure on this album, as I keep listening to it on repeat while writing.  It is this writer’s expressive hope that more songs such as these epic love songs appear on the complete album.  The band’s technical ability and quick precision is impeccable, amazing even, but it is the soft slow moments, the sustained crystal clear chords, the mesmerizing harmonies, that stop me in the moment, that rock my world and bring me to tearful smiles recalling my own personal hardships and triumphs, as emulated by the brilliant members of Bernee.  It would be well worth the holiday trip to Australia to hear the live version in all its refreshing splendor.  This is a show worth staying up as late as it takes! 

Reviewed By Julian Gorman

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