Taking their name and sonic inspiration from the bird responsible for one of the loudest and most distinct calls in the animal kingdom, Bellbird explores themes of interconnectedness between musicians, genres, and the natural world. Their second album and first for Constellation, The Call draws directly from the white bellbird itself, whose extreme, distinctive cry was analyzed and woven directly into the album's explosively beautiful title track.
The Montréal-based quartet of Claire Devlin (tenor sax), Allison Burik (alto sax, bass clarinet), Eli Davidovici (bass), and Mili Hong (drums) began playing together during pandemic park jams, inspired by the jazz and free improv scene that had formed around Café Résonance. But the four Montréal transplants fully cohered as Bellbird after an invitation to play the 2021 Ottawa Jazz Festival, and they've since been refining their rapport and collective voice over years of touring and playing together.
The quartet pushes beyond their acclaimed 2023 self-released debut Root in Tandem, embracing a deeply collaborative compositional process. Having previously split compositional duties, the eight songs on The Call emerged from workshopping musical cues and improv games, drawing on poems and conversations exchanged during residencies outside the city. The result is a powerful, cohesive statement that blends their jazz-centric instrumentation with influences from rock, fusion, and folk, from Mingus and Eric Dolphy to Ornette Coleman's Prime Time and indie rock.
A key feature of their sound is how they subvert the usual roles of their instruments, with horns deploying rhythmic patterns and supportive texture while acoustic bass and drums determine the form. This approach is a microcosm of the band's egalitarian ethos: they operate as a true collective without sacrificing their individual voices.
The album balances muscular compositions, like title track 'The Call', with moments where the band slows down to revel in thematic simplicity, as on 'Soft Animal' and 'Phthalo Green'.
Flipping the process from their debut, which was workshopped in the city but recorded in the countryside, The Call was laid down at Montréal's legendary Hotel2Tango by engineer Sylvaine Arnaud, who captures the raw energy of the band's live performances. The production largely eschews a traditional aesthetic, with powerful drums and inventive analog processing that accentuates the music's visceral impact. While often melodically rich and accessible, this is also a band unafraid of "ugly" sounds, harnessing multiphonics, bowed bass, and metallic textures to create a palette as haunting and naturalistic as it is explosive.
Socially and politically engaged, the album is a testament to the profound music created not by a single leader, but by a deeply empathetic quartet listening, responding, and creating as one. The Call channels the band's feelings on the climate crisis and global solidarity, with one of the album's centerpiece tracks 'Blowing on Embers' explicitly dedicated to a free Palestine. The Call is a decisive step forward, a unified cry from a band fully finding its powerful collective voice.
1. Firefly Pharology
2. Murmuration
3. Soft Animal
4. Blowing On Embers
5. Eternity Perspective
6. Phthalo Green
7. The Call
8. Mourning Dove
