minus the bear. planet of ice. i’ve been stoked about this cd coming out for a long time now. so come august 21st, after a long ride home from morgantown, i immediately headed out to pick it up. after the first listen, i was satisfied. it was a good cd, not better than some of their older cds, but still a good one. now 3 days and probably 15 listens later, i am in love. this could be their best cd. it’s all the same minus the bear that i loved before (catchy choruses, trippy guitar, great lyrics, songs about drinking, girls and the ocean) but with more synth and rockin’ guitar. planet of ice is all killer and no filler.
1. burying luck (3.5/5) a good start to the cd. real cool, crazy sounding synth. a catchy hook. good vocals. nothing too special but still a solid track.
2. ice monster (4/5) great song. its got real chill intro/verse music, a really catchy chorus, layers of guitar and a sweet breakdown with simple singing over a drum beat. very satisfying.
3. knights (3/5) one of my least favorite songs on the cd, which is unfortunate because i think it is the first single off of the album. it’s not a bad track but it fails in comparison to the rest of the cd. it has good music and a cool guitar solo but the lyrics don’t really do anything for me. still worth a listen.
4. white mystery (5/5) maybe my favorite song on the cd. this is the epitome of a minus the bear song. smooth as silk, mellow bass line, great guitar riffs, incredible synth solo and sensual lyrics. this is as good as it gets. songs like this are why i got into minus the bear in the first place. the synth on this song is unreal.
5. dr. l’ling (4.5/5) awesome song. tasty lyrics, guitar that just sucks you in, a beat that you just can’t help tapping your foot too and an awesome solo. one of the longer tracks on the cd at 6:48 but there’s nothing that could to be cut out. almost as close to perfection as white mystery.
6. part 2 (3.5/5) after a seamless transition from dr. l’ling, minus the bear begins part 2 with an acoustic guitar, something rarely heard in any minus song. from there, we hear a mellow guitar and smooth vocals about drinking with a japanese girl. typical minus the bear. the song gets a little punchier towards the end. overall a good song.
7. throwin’ shapes (4/5) very upbeat song about the ocean. fun, sing along chorus. simple music. it makes me wanna go jump in the atlantic.
8. when we escape (4.5/5) another one of my favorites. sultry lyrics, light synth effects and a rockin’ guitar solo put this one near the top. i wish there were more words to describe the guitar solo but no words have ever been made up that could capture how rockin it is. it is rock.
9. double vision quest (3.5/5) cool tune with a funky sound to it. nothing too special, still a good track. by this point in the album, if you’re not blown away by dave knudson and jake snider’s guitar playing then you’re probably not into good music. if that’s the case maybe go pick up kanye’s new cd instead.
10. lotus (3/5) last track on the cd and also the longest. pretty cool sounding song. a lot of the same smooth music that has been on most of the songs at some point. pretty cool solo. there’s long portion in the middle of the song that’s just noise that i could do without but it is followed by an extremely tasty, bluesy guitar solo. a decent way to end an album.
overall this is an excellent album. i’m gonna give it a 4 out of 5 but there’s a good chance that that rating could go up as i listen more. basically minus the bear is the best thing to come out of seattle since nirvana and that’s something to be proud of. check it out.
http://www.myspace.com/minusthebear
(listen to absinthe party at the fly honey warehouse while you’re there . . . amazing)
1 comment:
Great work.
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