Ber is known for wearing her heart on her sleeve, with lyrics that are emotionally honest, and a sound that weaves together pop and folk. In her new single, “Book Cover,” she opens up about what it feels like to be “overlooked as a person,” drawing on the timeless adage: don’t judge a book by its cover, but by the stories it has to tell.
The single is just a preface to her debut album, “Good, like it should be,” set for release on April 17. The 12-track record, co-written between Wisconsin and Minneapolis, alongside her frequent collaborators Rob Milton (Holly Humberstone, The 1975) and Bradley Hale (Now, Now), will feature previously released favorites including “Who’s This” and “Good, Real.”
We chatted with the Minnesota-born, London-based singer about finding the person who was willing to read past her “cover,” writing her debut album, and working with a fan to create her album artwork.
JUICE BOX PRESS: What inspired your new single, “Book Cover”?
BER: I wrote “Book Cover” the day I met my friend Corey Sanders. I honestly didn’t know if we were actually gonna write that day, sometimes you just meet people and chat and see if the vibe is there, but we were just chit-chatting about life over a cup of tea at his piano and about two hours into our hang he was like… “so I have this title idea that I’ve been saving for the right time, don’t laugh… ‘book cover’.”and immediately, I teared up. He didn’t even need to provide context, I just felt moved by the notion of meeting someone and immediately being judged by your appearances and not necessarily what’s underneath all the fluff. He and I had just spent two hours getting to know each other, and sharing stories about what life has been like navigating the world of music and love lives etc, and it just all fell into place in my head the second he said it. So we wrote about a time I felt really lonely and overlooked and like all anyone ever saw of me from the internet was how my make up looked or how skinny I was, like that somehow was what gave me and my music worth. It also happened that I was painfully single at the time and had been on a few dates where I felt like people kept just looking past me for someone cooler or more important than me to walk into the bar, so we used that image and feeling to set the scene of the song, and it honestly wrote itself after that.
JUICE BOX PRESS: You wrote this song before meeting your boyfriend. Looking back now, how does it feel to revisit that headspace? And what would you tell someone currently navigating those same emotions?
BER: Haha, bittersweet. I’ve learned a lot about myself in the last few years, it’s brilliant to be able to look back and laugh at myself a little. I wish I could shake some confidence into that version of me! I think it’s so dumb and perhaps obvious but the best advice I’ve been given is that break ups are nothing but good and patience is a virtue. Doors open for the right thing to enter when the wrong thing exits, and man, things just take time. Time is your friend. And patience is always worth it. But damn being patient is exhausting!
JUICE BOX PRESS: You’ve lived everywhere from Minnesota to London to Norway. How have those places shaped the artist you’ve become?
BER: I think songs are just an extension of us, and our environment and people shape us into who we are. It’s really interesting, I’m drawn to really cold, dark places, apparently! I must really thrive in snow and rain and no sunlight, haha, but I think the isolation that exists in Minnesota, specifically from parts of the music industry, is something that really has taught me to dive into myself and be quite insular and introspective in my writing, which perhaps shows. Time spent in London and Norway has genuinely just opened up so many doors to experiences and ways of life and helped pop that Minnesota bubble for me, and I’m really into the music that comes out of London and Norway- I think scandi-pop was my first true love, and probably my pipeline into pop music as a listener (I’m a huge fan of Sigrid, Astrid S, Dagny, and the synthy landscapes of their songs), and the slightly more indie/guitar driven scene here in London has really informed my own stuff sonically as well. Recently, all my references have been British groups from the 00’s… it’s fun to pull from places and see where you land. Most of the writing I do is collaborative, and I always learn so much about music and sounds and perspectives from every session I’m in, wherever it is on the map.
JUICE BOX PRESS: How does this single fit into the larger narrative of your debut album, “Good, Like It Should Be?“
BER: “Book Cover” really informed a lot of record for me, it was one of the first songs I had written that I thought “oh, this is a single. I’m making an album, it’s happening”. This song specifically really made me ask the question, what do I want? Why am I waiting around? Why do I feel this way? What is it I’m actually looking for? And I think the rest of the album is chock full of songs of me exploring the answers to those questions. Both in music and in life and love- I think this one came from a really lonely and confused place, and listening to it over and over really inspired me to get a grip and stop getting in my own way, and just write the songs I wanted to write and enjoy the ride a bit. Sonically, I think it’s the most yee-haw track from the record, but it opened a door to the folk and Americana roots that I’ve for some long been denying and I wrote some of my favorite songs on the album because of that. For me it was the glue!
JUICE BOX PRESS: The single artwork is a partially complete cross-stitch, and the album artwork is a complete cross-stitch? Can you share the story behind the artwork and how they weave into one another?
BER: Yes! Oh yes. The album artwork is so special to me. I grew up admiring my great grandmother’s cross stitch portraits she had framed all around her home, in the cabins we’d visit in the summer, the traditional ones of landscapes, people, rosemaling, Norwegian mountains. I never took cross stitch up myself but I’ve always loved it, and while writing the album I really leaned on crocheting and other fiber crafts to keep my mental health at bay. In January, I had a very special moment when a super talented fan named Alexis surprised me at my headline show with a cross stitched portrait of my “Room For You” ep cover.. it brought me to tears and was so beautiful, and very surreal to receive such a gift. She told me it took her 40,000 stitches and over 200 hours of stitching…wild for someone to spend so much time and energy on something like this, I knew how much had gone into that, and it really moved me. I have it hung on my wall, it really motivated me throughout the entire process of writing and recording and crying and living and remembering why I even want to make an album in the first place, so when the album was finished and it came time to start thinking about the artwork, I reached out to Alexis and asked if she’d do me the honor of cross stitching the cover. She was so sweet to say yes, and sweetly documented the process for me the entire way through — which again, seeing the WIP photos, made it clear that those would be the single art and that the album artwork would slowly but surely be revealed. 230 hours of stitching later and the album art was born!! The album feels very complete to me, and each song on the record feels like it leans on the others in a way that really weave them together, so the art reflecting that is really special I think. It was such a fun way to tease the album art as well, a few fans clocked it early on and I loved that part of the process as well. I have the physical portrait now hung next to the original one, they are my prized possessions! I only hope one day my great grandkids will see them on the wall of some cabin and be like oh hey, those are kinda cool!
JUICE BOX PRESS: What can fans look forward to in this next chapter?
So much new music, a headline tour, and hopefully just lots of opportunities for us to connect online and irl. I really hope I get the opportunity to meet people and thank them personally for sticking around and being here— it’s been a really wild journey and I’m just truly so happy to be turning this corner.
JUICE BOX PRESS: You’re heading out on tour with SYML this winter. What are you most excited for?
BER: Europe! I can’t wait to play these shows in these cities, so many of them I’ve never been to. I have to start brushing up on my German… but honestly I can’t wait to meet SYML and the crew and experience these beautiful venues, and play for fans I’ve never been able to meet before now. It’s the most excited I’ve been for something in a long time, I love traveling, I’m assembling a long list of foods I have to try…
For tickets, visit https://ber.os.fan/
Featured Photo Credit: Tom Thornton
Juice Box Press Founder and Editor-In-Chief, Amelia Cordischi is a highly accomplished digital marketing professional, with over a decade of experience in the field. Amelia’s work has been published in renowned publications, such as the Boston Globe. As a communications graduate of Simmons University in Boston and manager of Simmons College Radio (The Shark), Amelia launched and co-hosted her radio show, “The Find,” and showcased her artistic talents as a freelance photographer for Blended Magazine and CelebMix. Her journey in the media industry began at WCVB-TV Chronicle, an ABC Boston affiliate. There she gained valuable insights into the dynamic world of broadcasting.When not ricocheting around photo pits with her camera, interviewing emerging artists, or crafting the next Juice Box Press article, she can be found indulging her thrifting passion and immersing herself in the world of sustainable fashion.