Bliss Nova

Bliss Nova is synesthetic synth-pop: lush, pop-driven synthonies swimming in technicolor funk grooves, stirring hooks of psychedelic electronica and dreamy waves of chilled vapor. Brothers Daniel and Joel Trzcinski started the project as a way to put bedroom demos to good use — what ultimately became their 2015 EP, Do You Feel. The debut drew comparisons to Washed Out and Toro y Moi, and the band was lauded as “one of the top promising artists from the Midwest.”

From 2016 on, the band developed their live show, “a tapestry of ethereal electronic soundscapes set against explosive, booming rhythm,” and embarked on short-run tours, finding time to explore slicker dance-pop with EP Light & Shadow and double A-side “Say It” / “Now” in 2017.

Their 2019 full-length, Going Places, serves up smoggy, nostalgia-tinged euphoria awash with vintage sparkle. Longtime collaborator Brennan Willis (Ohio Recording Company) co-produced and mixed the record, while mastering legend Dave Cooley (J Dilla, M83, Blood Orange) gave it a sonic polish. Erika Spring (Au Revoir Simone) makes a guest appearance, lending vocals to “Blind.”

With the new-age aesthetic of Eno and Gondry-esque surrealism, the album marks a fresh sonic evolution, uniting eclectic influences from electro funk and cosmic jazz to ambient electronica, neo-soul and r&b. A supernova of samples, field recordings, lush percussion and catchy pentatonic tropes shimmer on the surface, with murkier depths and humor underneath. The Trzcinski brothers’ Bliss Nova philosophy truly is Going Places and moving a swelling congregation of their own followers in the process.