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Bristling with guitar
acrobatics and infectious melodies, Minus The Bear's fifth
studio full-length album, Infinity Overhead, dueAugust 28 on Dangerbird
Records, is not only a return to form in direction, instrumentation and
creation but also the band's most aggressive and confident. The veteran
Seattle-based fivesome reunited with former member and longtime producerMatt
Bayles (Mastodon, Isis, Cursive) to create a
guitar-laden 10-track record that is heavy both on technicality and pop
songcraft and showcases the band doing what they do best - interesting,
guitar-based big sounding rock. The band is giving a sneak peek into the
album with a minute-long trailer on their site: MinusTheBear.com.
"We wanted to branch out on the last record and
explore some more musical directions and work with someone we didn't
know," says guitarist Dave Knudson about the band's
2010 LP, Omni, produced by Joe Chiccarelli. "That
was very educational and eye opening but at the same time we weren't in our
wheel house." Drummer Erin Tateadds: "I look at it like
when we started this band we were building a house with the first three
records, then with Omni we decided to go to a beach house.
Now, with Infinity Overhead, we are back working on our
house." Bassist Cory Murchy succinctly exclaims:
"We didn't go anywhere, but we're back."
While the smooth and sensual Omni saw the
band experimenting with keyboards and a new producer, Infinity
Overhead sees the quintet building on their trademark sound and
putting the focus back on guitars. And it's the guitars that really drive
this record. Knudson and Snider color each song with layers and layers of
intricate and inventive guitar textures, tones and noise. There's the usual
chugging power chords, string bending, finger tapping, searing fretwork and
circular riffs that the band is known for but while the album also features
some of Minus The Bear's most complex guitar playing to date, including some
of their gnarliest guitar tones ever as evidenced on,"Lonely
Gun," it is also their most accessible, filled to the brim with
big pop hooks and catchy choruses.
In order to make the record they had in mind, Minus The
Bear reunited with Matt Bayles, former founding member and producer
of the band's acclaimed albums,Planet Of Ice and Menos
El Oso. "Stepping back into the studio with Matt felt really
comfortable," says Knudson. "There was no education or learning
curve, he knows us so well and how we work that it was just right back into
the swing of things." Murchy adds: "It was like old times, but both
Matt and the band have had time to work outside with other people and we were
both able to bring back what we learned and apply it to the old
feeling."
The band, consisting of Jake Snider (vocals,
guitar), Dave Knudson (guitar), Cory Murchy (bass), Alex Rose (synths,
vocals) and Erin Tate (drums), went to work on
their fifth album together in their hometown Seattle. From January to April
of 2012 they holed up at London Bridge Studio and Bayles' Red Room Recording
to craft a sonically complex yet melodically rich mature album. Many of the
tracks have a foreboding feeling and as Snider reveals, the lyrics were
influenced by the direction of the music. "I don't know if this is our
darkest record," Snider says. "It has more contrast but it
definitely has some bright points. The darks are darker and the brights are
brighter."
From the opening blast of the aptly named "Steel
and Blood," it is obvious it is a more aggressive LP than the
band's previous efforts. A chugging, distorted guitar, rumbling bass,
pounding drums and a slithering guitar line collide together like the car
wreck Snider sings about: "Two become one/ cacophony of a car crash/
steel and blood/ and it's over with a silence." On "Lies
and Eyes," Snider sings about deception in a relationship over
stabbing, frenetic guitars and spacey synths. The dancey song quickly builds
to a soaring and tense climax of piercing guitar and urgent drumming before
settling back down into a bed of tremolo guitar and Snider singing "Pick
up the pieces of these words shattered across the floor/ with careful hands
you know these words are sharp/ and you can read the blood."
Infinity Overhead takes its title from the
majestic "Diamond Lightning," which Snider
describes as having "an acid trip kinda vibe" and is a memory from
his high school days. As he puts it "it incorporates a lot of our
breadth and what we are capable of." However, each song demonstrates the
band's sonic dexterity. From the out of control tropical-esque vibe of "Toska," with
its clattering drums, alternate pickings and pull ons, to the jaunty,
acoustic "Listing," to the shimmering melancholia
of "Heaven Is A Ghost Town," and the poppy
synth-fueled "Zeros" to the hard hitting rock of
album closer "Cold Company," it might be the most
varied record of the band's career.
Since forming in Seattle in 2001, Minus The Bear has
worked relentlessly over the past decade to build a large and devoted
following worldwide with consistent releases and a non-stop touring
regimen. They have proven to be a powerful musical force that has
outlasted trends, the changing musical landscape, and a volatile record
industry. Their Dangerbird debut, Omni, debuted in the Billboard
Top 50 and over the last 11 years they have released four albums and several
EPs on varying labels such as Suicide Squeeze, Arena Rock and Polyvinyl. The
band has played countless sold out venues throughout the world both large and
small and toured the globe over including North America, Europe, U.K., Japan
and Australia, in addition to unforgettable performances at every high
profile U.S. festival like Bonnaroo, Coachella, Lollapalooza and Sasquatch!.
It is no doubt testament to the band's DIY beginnings, impressive
relationship with their fans and inventive music that they remain a beloved
group with an unyielding fanbase that continues to grow with each album. They
have done this all on their own terms and with the release of Infinity
Overhead, they are at the height of their powers.
MINUS THE BEAR
INFINITY OVERHEAD
(DANGERBIRD RECORDS)
STREET DATE: AUGUST 28, 2012
1. Steel and Blood
2. Lies and Eyes
3. Diamond Lightning
4. Toska
5. Listing
6. Heaven Is A Ghost Town
7. Empty Party Rooms
8. Zeros
9. Lonely Gun
10. Cold Company
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