I’m sure you’ve heard of Minus the Bear before. The banter usually goes a little like this: "Oh, their songs are totally funny. They sing about kickin’ it like wild donkeys…” For anyone cares, Minus the Bear might be the best band in the world, but the full scope of band’s achievements, for the most part, seem to have fallen on deaf ears in favor of stabs at one-dimensional song titles. "[In] almost every interview we've ever done, the song title thing has come up, and we just want to get people to think about what's going on musically,” says MTB vocalist and guitarist Jake Snider.
In the simplest terms, song titles are not the focus of Minus The Bear; it’s the music, it’s always been so….With their new album, Menos El Oso, The Bear reinforce that focus and expand on it, ushering richer narratives, refined production, and emotional breadth into their sound. The song titles are more subtle, the lyrics, more thematic. The rich syncopation and calculated, but lush, musical arrangements remain—only they've been cultivated. Think early Police, add a dash of Prefuse 73’s electronic subtlety, tons of intricate musicianship, heaping mounds of sincerity and a few emotional outbursts made by ex-members of Botch, Kill Sadie, Sharks Keep Moving, and producer Matt Bayles (Isis, Mastodon, The Blood Brothers), now you're getting there.
Recorded over a three-month period in early 2005, Menos El Oso (Spanish for “Minus the Bear”) finds the Seattle boys moving fully into the production helm of their own music, with the resulting exploration allowing the band to more critically analyze, edit, and communicate their ideas. "Producing the record ourselves allowed us to bounce ideas off one another without having to worry about the ego of a producer sitting there...this is [in every way] our own record," adds Snider.
While producing Menos El Oso, the band employed the help of some engineer friends, commandeered several studio spaces throughout the greater Seattle area, and built song structures piece by piece, choosing to add keyboards; vocals and effects only after the basic tracks were recorded. "It was a departure for us to have the music done in a really listenable form and sit in our home studios with our Pro Tools rig. I was able to write lyrics to an almost finished product," says Snider.
The departure Snider speaks of has lyrically allowed him to address more thematic, more story-driven topics. Minus The Bear’s days of writing "songs about drinking and girls" are done and gone—instead replaced by tales of money as metaphor, stripped innocence and lovelorn remembrance.
With Menos El Oso, the band’s focus on musical and personal growth continues. It's a multi-dimensional ride through endearment, confusion and melody, and not at all just noteworthy for funny song titles.
If Menos El Oso is noteworthy for anything, it’s the music, just as it’s always been |
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