Minus the Bear: Omni

    I feel like a post about a band like Minus the Bear is a little different for me. Either I am becoming more eclectic in my taste, or Minus the Bear is really really quite good. Straightforward, they are pure rock and roll, none of that indie taste that usually attracts me. Yes, they qualify as indie, but just do not possess that typical indie sound to me. Regardless, I think it is how they borrow from dance, post-rock, math rock, progressive and experiment with different sound combinations that draws my interest. Perhaps I just want to see what kind of response this band will receive from my few readers. I try and find bands that not only please my ears (that is a must!), but yours (which admittedly comes of second importance).
    On to the point of this post, Minus the Bear, from Seattle, came together in 2001. The name comes with a story, too difficult to explain, so the short of it is that it comes from an inside joke about a television show called B. J. and the Bear. Minus the Bear has released a bit over a handful of EPs, a remix LP and four full length LPs, the latest being Omni on May 4, 2010 through Dangerbird Records. Apparently, Omni was recorded like a live show, straight through tracks, instead of piece by piece, layer by layer. I gotta give them props for that, because it is clean and contains a real sense of energy--probably as a result of such a process. This also means, probably, that a live show would sound very similar to their album. I do not go to a lot of live shows, partially for financial reasons and I prefer to keep my hearing well into my old age, but also because most bands do not sound as good live; acoustically, intonation is often off and balance is a wreck. I guess some bands are probably better live than on album, but that could only be if they needed a lot of noise to cover up something lacking, or their recording quality is poor. Yes, I'm a snob (jk!).
    What I like about Minus the Bear: their guitars are not just rhythm guitars, they play only what is needed and it adds a cool picky tangy sound. Both guitars go back and forth nicely, complimenting each other. Overall, quick nifty guitar riffs are what remind me of math rock, almost shoe gazing really, along with the angular hemiola rhythmic feel. Probably the most well known track you may have heard on the radio is "My Time", the opener, and is the most electronified, with almost 8-bit or 16-bit Nintendo sounds. I especially like the track "Into the Mirror" about half way through, how it goes straight into "Animal Backwards"; which picks up sort of the same tune, but with an electronic dance feel, almost like it is remixing itself. More on the harder side is "Secret Country", which shows almost a progressive rock side nicely. Then there is also a sort of ostinato continuity (through repeated rhythms and guitar chords), subdued chords (last track "Fooled by the Night") or hard jam (end of "Dayglow Vista Rd."), which in their own way minimally represent the post-rock idea.
    Check out "Dayglow Vista Rd." in the MixPod or check out the whole album on their MySpace here. Enjoy!