Saint Bernadette

Watch out Shirley Bassey. Meredith DiMenna of Saint Bernadette wields an old-school femme fatale voice that would be perfect for the next 20 years of James Bond themes. She’s cool and mesmerizing over Western guitars in highlight “She’s a Natural,” a dead-eyed ballad about bad girls gone worse, and tough and soulful in the more strident “Lay Me Down.” Arrangements are fine and varied, too, drawing on the live, one-take versatility of a six-person band. “Beat Dialogue” swings in glossy spoke-sung style atop a fat walking bass line, while “Sidestep” conjures vast country spaces with aching slide guitar. DiMenna and co-writer Keith Saunders clearly absorbed glamour from their surroundings, a faded Art Deco ballroom in Bridgeport, Conn., where they recorded in June 2006. With In the Ballroom, they find fresh grooves in retro textures, layering eerie tones of guitar, woozy brass and bass under soft-lit 1940s jazz melodies. - By Jennifer Kelly

The debut album from Connecticut’s Saint Bernadette hits the sort of notes and touches that make me weak in the knees, by expertly melding things I’m a sucker for: ballsy broads, smoke-filled jazz clubs, and, of course, the element of surprise. Lead vocalist Meredith DiMenna has, if you can imagine—and perhaps you should be sitting down for this—pipes that, in the span of one forty-minute record, channel Beth Gibbons, Grace Slick, Johnette Napolitano, Velma Kelly and PJ Harvey. Picture a hazy, boozy club in the darkened edge of town (“I Own the City”), sitting at rickety wooden tables at the mercy of a band at its epic prime (“Such Ease,” “Lay Me Down”), with instrumentation that effortlessly undulates, and with brute force and passion, lights and conquers the torch songs (“Pieces,” “Sidestep”) and menacing theatrics equally (“No Dreams”). Whew. I’m exhausted, and enamored. You will be, too. - Carrie Allison

Recorded in the titular space (the ballroom of the Bijou Theater in Bridgeport, CT) in only three days, with no overdubs, Saint Bernadette's debut is a shimmering set of torchy, if not necessarily romantic jazz blues that reveals additional layers the more it's played. Although horns and guitar add to the atmosphere, it's Meredith DiMenna's supple, velvety voice -- somewhat like a combination of Norah Jones, Toni Price, Peggy Lee, and Billie Holiday -- that drives the project. Led by DiMenna, whose vocals are heard in an entirely different setting as MTV's trashy Chunky Pam, along with fellow songwriter Keith Saunders, these 11 originals hint at retro '60s styled mood with contemporary touches. But it's the subtle dynamics that elevate the material; lap steel guitar brings a somewhat ghostly approach to the songs as DiMenna's husky, sexy singing weaves through the spaces in the sound. A few tracks like "Such Ease" benefit from a harder edge yet the album typically stays in a mid-tempo, not quite ballad mode that lets the songs breathe and allows DiMenna the leeway to smother her smoky voice over the proceedings. The project exudes a sensuous sheen over its 40-minute playing time, and the album works due to a greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts dynamic. Imagine a set influenced by Santo & Johnny's nocturnal instrumental "Sleepwalk" and you're close to the hazy vibe evoked here. DiMenna occasionally radiates Grace Slick-styled phrasing, especially on the dramatic "Lay Me Down." Although the material is strong, it isn't particularly hooky. That's not a detriment, though, because it adds to the mystery and sense of ambiguity that the songs simmer in. When the guitars do crank up on "No Dreams," it's a sonic shock to the system. Turn the lights down low, burn some incense, and lose yourself in Saint Bernadette's intense yet lithe charms. - Hal Horowitz

On your initial trip through In The Ballroom, all you notice is Meredith DiMenna, a back-alley chanteuse committed to getting what she wants via enticement, or if necessary, menace. Hers is a dialect of purrs, sighs, sneers and growls. It is all too easy to imagine her spinning her tales of lust, betrayal and deception across the desk from a soft-headed private dick who is distracted by her gams. If you've ever wished Gentleman was recorded from a female perspective, your wait is over.

However, as much as you can't help but love Ms. Dimenna's ability, she often diverts attention from the group's male protagonist, guitarist Keith Saunders. Saunders has great chops, but moreover he reveals the all too uncommon ability of playing exactly (and only) what the song demands. Like a scholar of the sweet science, he dissects, carefully choosing his spots and ensuring that Ms. Dimenna is left with plenty of room to operate. His serpentine slide and lap steel playing is certainly praiseworthy, and rest assured, Saunders flat out rips when the time is right. Side B (yes, they labeled them sides) of In The Ballroom is particularly thrilling as Saunders and the band pushes aside smoky atmospherics and cuts loose on songs like Lay Me Down and No Dreams.

In The Ballroom is a great listen, but to truly appreciate this record, you should know the backstory. The ballroom of the title is Bridgeport, Connecticut's historic Bijou Theater, which the band procured for five days in June of 2006 and is featured prominently in their video for Pieces. Allowing a day each for load in and load out, recording was accomplished in a live three day session with minimal overdubbing; a manageable schedule for a solo act or blues-rock duo, but nearly unthinkable for a sextet, especially given Saint Bernadette's flair for the dramatic. Of course, it certainly doesn't hurt that the record was mixed by Peter Katis, a fellow who has honed his craft on records by Clem Snide, Interpol and The Twilight Sad. Incidentally, his work on In The Ballroom was delayed due to the fact that he was earning the triple crown (engineer, producer and mixer) on that record the kids liked so much last year, The National's Boxer.

If you're a fan of femme fatales and below-the-belt rock (and really, who isn't?), Saint Bernadette is definitely worth your attention. I'm also going to go out on a limb and say if new song Love Is A Stranger (now on MySpace along with videos for Pieces and Sidestep) is any indication, you'll be clamoring for the I Want To Tell You Something... EP when it hits the streets on March 4th.
- MY OLD KENTUCKY BLOG

And with some more apparitions, weirder songwriting, and maybe a wholesale embrace of cacophony and insanity, Meredith DiMenna may become a menace, a Karen O. for Fairfield County. - POPMATTERS

Grace Slick-meets-Edie Brickell vocals at their most haunting. - NEW YORK TIMES

. . . .a more immediately modern collection of songs that invites listeners to step out of the retro vibe of the ballroom and in to the raw, smoky barroom.

- METROMIX

They’re a psychedelic lounge-rock band that comes with a strong, intensely professional sound, partly because of Saunders’ production talents and partly because they’re each just that fucking good. The band is full of music teachers, nationally touring musicians, and life-long students of all types of music. Their extreme talent lends itself to throwbacks to old-school lounge music, blues tunes and the work of rock idols. (They do a great funky cover of David Bowie’s “It Ain’t Easy”).

It’s all smooth and retro on the first album, In the Ballroom (which was recorded live in a Bridgeport ballroom), and much larger and more intense on the follow-up EP, I Want to Tell You Something. The emotion they channel is true and sincere, and the picture they paint is simultaneously serious and laid-back. - Fairfield Weekly

“The music on In The Ballroom, is seductive, eclectic, sophisticated and a natural fit for DiMenna’s superlative voice.” - Ray Hogan

"sweet as an angel and edgy as hell" - bust.com