Grrrrab bag

Bear is the new wolf
By MICHAEL BRODEUR  |  March 31, 2010

1003_seabear-Mina

Prog wild: The controlled chaos of Bear in Heaven. By Michael Brodeur.
Am I right or what? After savaging the wolf-band-name population and exhausting the same linguistic ecosystem of deer phrases, the indie-rock mammal-band juggernaut has extended its hungry gaze toward the ursine community. Yes, yes, there’s already Grizzly Bear and Volcano the Bear, Bear Vs. Shark and Minus the Bear — but those are really just the beginning. A whole new sloth of bear bands is coming this way. (And by the way, check out my new band, the Specious Sidebars.)

SEABEAR | Reykjavík’s Sindri Már Sigfússon also goes under the name Sin Fang Bous, and if you heard his 2008 debut, Clangour, you’re already acquainted with his oddball charm. Seabear are a folksier, more collaborative seven-piece realization of his softer side. Their debut, We Built a Fire, is fresh out on Morr Music.

BEAR HANDS | This Brooklyn four-piece had a great go at the music festival I promised never to mention again, and now they’re bounding around the country with our own Passion Pit. The pairing and their popularity are easy to understand — a little Modest Mouse, a little Shins, a smidge of the Pit. Their BBQ-ready “What a Drag” single is about to drop on Cantora records.

IWRESTLEDABEARONCE | If you’re in the market for sprawling, Busey-inspired, attention-deficit avant-metal with jarring loungy interludes, this Shreveport wrecking crew may be for you. If you hate little shits with asymmetrical bobs and checkered jeans, you should probably skip their appearance on the Warped Tour and just get their It’s All Happening LP (Century) for the decidedly non–Hot Topical confines of your home.

BEARFORCE 1 | In case you were waiting around for a joke about the other kind of bear band, with guts and beards and man-on-man nookie and what not, you’re too late — they broke up last June.

Related: Photos: Tegan and Sara at the Ames Hotel, Photos: Silversun Pickups at the Ames Hotel, SXSW 2010 (Saturday): [Photos] J Mascis, Exene Cervenka, and Fucked Up, More more >
  Topics: Music Features , Entertainment, Bear Hands, I Wrestled a Bear Once,  More more >
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