Auditorium

Auditorium is Spencer Berger, an ex-Metropolitan Opera Singer who weaves a beautiful tapestry of folk, indie, and glam rock…do yourself a favor and check out his Be Brave debut." - Time-Out New York

Spencer Berger, the Queens-bred Angeleno who sang with the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus as a youth and now makes music as Auditorium, tackles the big stuff on his forthcoming album “The First Music.” Due this summer, it’s Auditorium’s first release since 2012, the result of more than 200 nights of recording in his apartment (oh, to be his neighbor), during which he played all the instruments and meticulously layered the background vocals. Berger calls the album “a hunt for answers to unanswerable questions,” with songs inspired by personal tragedy, family history, childhood memories and world events, all polished into 3-minute gems that straddle the folk, pop and classical worlds.

“Mt. Moriah” is a stunning 2 1/2-minute allegory that gets an equally riveting treatment from video director Ben Barnes. Here, he follows two children who are being ferried to another neighborhood to go trick-or-treating, and in one of those moments of lost innocence a little girl witnesses that which she does not comprehend.

Another of Barnes’ videos for Auditorium, “Fire Fire Ocean Liner,” will be on the program Wednesday night at the Hammer Museum as part of the Flux Screening Series, along with videos from the Kills, Major Lazer and Pollyn. - Buzzbands.la

As you’re closing your night out, throw this gem on from Auditorium. With a soothing, indie feel, “MT. Moriah” is the perfect track to wind down after you get home. Paired with stunning visuals by Ben Barnes we can’t help but get a warm, fuzzy feeling inside upon listening. Most comparable to Fleet Foxes, or Noah and The Whale, you’ll really love Auditorium if you like soothing melodies, and extremely intelligent lyricism. This video is a pre-cursor to their next upcoming release ‘Fire Fire Ocean Liner.’ If you like this, check Auditorium out on social media for more updates on their future releases. - GoodMusicAllDay

Auditorium (formerly Field) is the work of Spencer Berger, whose debut album Be Brave was released in January. Berger specializes in 'glam-folk', whereby theatrical, multi-layered vocal harmonies shine throughout the album, telling stories of love, nature, cities and people in a remarkably engaging way. Auditorium is beginning to make waves in LA and beyond - get on board now before your friends are barking at you about it in a few months. - The Guardian/I Guess I'm Floating

We first stumbled across Auditorium back in December 2009 in a rather peculiar way — Spencer Berger, the man behind the music, had just finished a ridiculously good year that involved writing and starring in a fantastic little film called Skills Like This that won the Audience Award at SXSW. It was the trailer that caught my eye and after writing an usually film-oriented post, I got an email from Spencer about his music project called “Field”. Promising a debut LP sometime in the near future, Field became Auditorium and the handful of demos I heard in 2009 became the backbone of his debut LP, a little microcosm of glam-folk known as Be Brave.

As if successfully helming and starring in a relatively successful indie comedy isn’t enough, Berger’s Auditorium project is no less ambitious. He performed at the Metropolitan Opera House at a young age, something that’s hard not to notice throughout the album’s 14 tracks– intriguingly complex, almost endearingly dissonant vocal melodies beam through each song, as if he polished Bowie’s uncertain shrieks and hollers into a marbled, intrepid sheen. A feat in and of itself, Berger recorded the album almost entirely by himself while still producing something as grand, spacious and ambitious as Be Brave tends to be. - I Guess I'm Floating

It didn’t take long for Auditorium to resonate with me. After stumbling across of few of their songs the other day, I had one of those thrilling “tell all your friends about this band… immediately” moments that leads to a series of mass gchat and facebook linking. But when asked the requisite, “What do they sound like?”, I was surprised to find myself at a loss for words. For someone who writes about music on a daily basis, it’s not often I can’t quickly spit out a few genre tags, comparisons, or buzzwords, so when I draw a blank, it’s actually quite exciting; it makes you soak up the songs in a whole different way. You’d probably agree it usually means you’ve really found something to hold on to. Sometimes we can’t instantly explain why we like something; it just feels right.

Now that doesn’t mean that Auditorium’s debut, Be Brave, is this experimental, never-been-done-before album; broken down to its parts (acoustic guitar, electric bass, vocals), it’s actually rather simple. But there’s an inherent and unrelenting beauty in Be Brave that is impossible to ignore. It took Auditorium’s Spencer Berger the better part of three years to complete the LP, and only such a painstaking and meticulous effort could sound so effortless. Simply put, the compositions and especially the harmonies are gorgeous. Berger’s unique and compelling voice is layered to create harmonies that are so giant in scope you have trouble believe it’s just him. There’s a theatrical element to the vocals, but never in a contrived or gimmicky way (if Bowie or Bolan sang in a hip choir, it might sound like Auditorium).

The whole of Be Brave reflects a sense of hope, one that doesn’t dissipate even in the dark times. So get acquainted with Auditorium, and try not to walk away in a better mood. - Crawdaddy

It’s been almost three years since Auditorium’s last release — 2012’s “Nights Worth Living” EP, which followed the 2011 full-length “Be Brave.” Suffice to say Spencer Berger has lost none of the golden-throated splendor that made those releases so distinctive. A Queens native who from age 9 to 12 sang in the Metropolitan Opera, logging stage time with the likes of Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo, Berger performs all vocals and instruments on Auditorium’s recordings himself. His sophisticated self-harmonizing has few peers in the indie-pop world, and with his largely straightforward instrumentation, as on the new single “My Grandfather Could Make the World Dance,” Auditorium conjures up a certain acoustic majesty, or perhaps a stripped-down Queen. Of the new single, Berger says it was written “with some very specific childhood memories” in mind. It’s part a new full-length for which the singer-songwriter has not nailed down release plans. Meanwhile, do not try this in the shower at home. - Buzzbands LA

Spencer Berger is an ex-Metropolitan Opera singer, who brought on a storm of critical praise with his project Auditorium after releasing a LP in 2011 and an EP in 2012. Now he’s back with a new single, “My Grandfather Could Make The World Dance”, that highlights Berger’s vocal prowess and stellar songwriting, which is particularly heartfelt in this new single which honors the spirit of his grandfather. There’s a theatrical quality about it that recalls Meat Loaf and reaches epic heights not expected based on its title alone. Long story short, you need to hear this song immediately. - Earbuddy

Sailing vocals and careful craftsmanship are the biggest thing on display in this new single/video from LA’s Auditorium. Sure, the adorable child at the heart of the video isn’t one to be ignored, but I love the way the songwriting sparkles through every moment in this song. The song owes a debt to the voice behind it all, Spencer Berger, whose classically trained chops definitely shine the brightest; it’s one of those special voices like Antony, where you can’t pull yourself away…a perfect example of the voice being operated at the highest level. Give some time to this video today. - Austin Town Hall