Br'er initially began as the solo recording project of Philadelphia
native Benjamin Schurr as a means of completing several unfinished songs he began for another project. From these meager beginnings Br'er quickly became its own entity, growing into an ever shifting lineup of musicians culled from across the Philadelphia area to help bring Schurr's dense experimental pop compositions to life. After several manic recording sessions with borrowed equipment, broken keyboards and a shifting scene of partners and cohorts, Br'er's first album "Of Shemales and Kissaboos" was born, and finally emerging as a functional live outfit in July of 2007. Since its initial inception, Br'er has been an ever evolving project, changing shape and sound as both a live band and as a recording project.
"These five songs consist of dramatic song arrangements and colorful instrumentation, fronted by Schurr's emotive howls. "Whitewash" starts Br'er's side on a depressing, "The Glow Pt.2" note; every instrument weeps sustained notes while Schurr cries... The EP emerges from that bubble of sorrow, though continues to utilize its theatrical motifs: "Have Mercy On My Soul" applies dialogue that underlie the lyrics themselves, voices conversing via the left and right channels. On The Soft Mountain, Br'er showcases the soundtrack to an unseen play, with beautiful compositions, an abundance of backing instruments, and a great story detailed in the lyrics."
Olive Music, August 30th, 2010
"...this EP by Br'er summons the wide swatch of pop music through the past century. Layering accessible melodies with avant idealism, Filled with Guilt & Diamonds has no peer grounding, taking pop in a direction far different than the current phenomena of chillwave or bedroom. There's an innocence to be found in the sound of Br'er, but as evident by the cringe-worthy cover, the broken stream of consciousness, and disturbing lyrics... the duplicitous nature of Br'er and Edible Onion separate this from the poppy pack."
Tiny Mix Tapes, August 30th, 2010
"...Br'er creates meticulous and eccentric pop music, but with a much darker force creeping alongside the compositions... creating lively and textured tapestries of slow-moving and intricate sound. Splatters of noise occasionally drift in to soak the instrumentation in gloomy delight. Schurr's echoed vocals are most haunting on "Sugar Bear," where cascading static spins around his dark confessions. On final track "Catch A Falling Knife," Christian Mirande contributes the sound of a door opening and closing, which aurally speaks to the emotional transitioning and gender shifting themes of the album. Ultimately, this is a forward-thinking EP that constructs its own universe of sound and sentiment."
Foxy Digitalis, April 21st, 2010
"Philadelphia's Br'er, the musical vehicle of Benjamin Schurr, is a band definitely worth checking out if your into lush blooming audio highs. His work on the new EP Filled With Guilt & Diamonds reminds me of the more experimental/avant garde side of Grizzly Bear fused with some twisted Sufjan sounding epic folk pop. The EP is packed full of vibrant/diverse tracks, my favorite being the echoed out piano picked whistle laden shoegazer "Painted Lady" which features Nat Baldwin of the Dirty Projectors on upright bass."
Pasta Primavera, December 3rd, 2009
"This is a cover that would give John Bobbitt nightmares, but that's not why it gets a feature here. Looking at the art, one would expect something entirely dark, possibly mystical, something with wild beats, and yeah, probably a little on the goth end as well. The image itself is disturbing - there's no borderline about it. From a male perspective, you wanna downright cringe."
"But Br'er is none of that; at least they're not what you'd expect. Listen to "Painted Lady" and you'll be treated to something that's more along the lines of Jens Lekman channeling Xiu Xiu's Jamie Stewart (in his non-freak-out, minimalist mode) while creating something wonderfully melodic and beautiful. It's pop of the experimental sort, dabbling in the avant-garde. In a way, it makes the cover art just that much more brilliant."
Fense Post, Cover Art, November 9th, 2009
"I've been dancing rather coyly with Br'er's music for the last few months, trying to get to the stage where I really could figure out quite what I made of it. It's tense, but not all that edgy, and can be beautiful, without ever being particularly pretty, and it is experimental but in more of an unsettling than a confrontational way."
Song, By Toad, October 27th, 2009
