New Music /

Saint Bernadette

Saint Bernadette are the latest band to have blown my eardrums into orbit. Their music is a scattered collection of catchy pop — rocky, soulful, introspective and wildly charismatic all at the same time. Must make for interesting rehearsals. We spoke to Keith Saunders and Meredith DiMenna from the group: Your new EP, I Wanna Tell You Something, is so diverse. What were you listening to or watching around the time of the recording that contributed to the breadth of styles? DiMenna ‘Our home town of Bridgeport is extremely diverse. There are over 60 languages spoken here, so we try to get around. We were listening to NPR, Steely Dan, local Bridgeport rap, Yma Sumac, Mars Volta, Journey, Dusty Springfield, Queens of the Stone Age, and of course, Hall and Oates’. Saunders ‘These songs are more collaborative than the last record ["In The Ballroom" Exotic Records 2007], which was just Meredith and I doing all of the writing. So, I guess we were listening to each other! The more cooks in the kitchen, the more flavor in the mix. Sometimes! Once in a while that recipe yields inedible muck’. Your song One in a Million is a raucous 3am sing-along if ever there was one. Must have been fun mixing it and hearing the bouncy goodness come to life? DiMenna ‘One thing I love to do is stack vocals. Makes all those years in choir seem worth it. I think it was 3 am when we recorded it, so you have heard right! However, I must confess to finding the mixing process unbearable – hearing the same lines over and over. Ugh!’ Saunders ‘Well, that’s where I come in. For some reason, I was born without the trigger that makes repetition annoying. But I’ve worked with plenty of artists that literally have to leave the room when it comes time to mix. Although, when the mix occurs at 3am, some of them are too tired to slide themselves off of the couch, so they have to suffer through it! But this track really required some song-crafting from Meredith and I. We love performing the song live, but the recording needed some extra love before we were happy with it. I think the percussive guitar part you hear in the second verse was an idea that came along towards the very end. And the vocal parts were sung and resung (and resung) until Meredith was happy with the feel. Then we layered lots of back-up vocals on it – including me – and finally the song had more depth to it. That bouncy third verse, which I believe is the ’sing-along’ you’re referring to, was actually one of the very first takes. The best parts always come together very easily. Seems we have to work for mediocrity. Go figga’. Are you really Saints? Now c’mon. Confess! DiMenna ‘We always confess, that’s what makes the Catholic Church great. Sainthood means always saying you’re sorry’. Saunders ‘Well, I do believe that everyone should get the day off on my birthday. Does that count? And I was an altar boy in elementary school, even if it was just to get out of class when they needed me for a funeral. Shhh’.

Tagged: pop music, Saint Bernadette

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