Home » Music » Song of the Day

Firefly Pharology by Alison Burik

From the album

Buy Album

Album Title: The Call
Label: Constellation
Released: 2026

Listen

Sign in to view listen count

About the Album

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, Allison Burik, Eli

Davidovici, and Mili Hong 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.

The Call was released on Friday, February 6th 2026 on

Constellation Records

Tracks

FIrefly Pharology; Murmuration; Soft Animal; Blowing on Embers; Eternity Perspective; Phthalo Green; The Call; Mourning Dove

Personnel

Additional Personnel

Allison Burik: Bass Clarinet

Date featured

April 10, 2026

This song appears by permission of the contributing artist and/or record company. It is for personal use only; no other rights are granted or implied.

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Tags