Robin Dann, songwriter for Toronto band Bernice, embraces the word “maybe” more than any other in “Groove Elation.” It’s a playful repetition that also echoes Bernice’s free approach to song. On “Groove Elation,” they offer up a warm and delicate rhythm that lures you further into its waters on everyday elations, from the abstract (“Maybe our spirits align”) to the concrete (“Maybe it’s an orange you’re peeling”). Listening to the eclectic Toronto group alchemize genres feels like ruminating on a summer love; the ever-changing and exciting possibilities swirl around you. Twinkling synthetic orchestration suddenly gives way to keys gently falling over a bass groove, distorted vocals coexist with feather-light pop harmonies as pleasing as they are surprising, and a saxophone answers the call of imaginary ringtones in a life-affirming energy current.

Where Bernice’s 2018 album Puff LP: In the air without a shape often evoked moonlight, “Groove Elation” suggests daybreak with electronic swells and samples that curl open as flowers do. Here, the space between notes is less midnight forest, more sun-kissed island. Each new idea Bernice presents over the course of their jubilation, from a brass flourish to nostalgic, Windows 95-esque chimes, offers a beam of light. As they wade in and out of ambient vocals accented by varied organic-meets-mechanic percussive hits, Bernice poses one constant: “Maybe let’s groove it for sure.” Toying with genre may be their hallmark, but Bernice’s resounding joy is just as essential to their charm.