Minus The Bear Review The Singles

Nausea and bounciness: best not to mix them…

Having just put out rarities collection ‘Lost Loves’, Seattle five-piece Minus The Bear have reminded us of their great knack for combining cunning melodies with rampant rhythms and just a little intelligence. Okay, quite a bit: this is whip-smart pop-rock with all phasers set to stunning, and it’s been that way since the band’s debut, ‘Highly Refined Pirates’, which came out back in 2002.

‘Lost Loves’ is out right now on Big Scary Monsters, and you can listen to ‘The Lucky Ones’ from said release below, right before band member Alex Rose’s take on this week’s new singles.

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Charli XCX – ‘Break The Rules’

“This made me a bit nauseous. It’s perfect, and I definitely shouldn’t be watching this video. It’s making me feel old. Works on a lot of levels, but I can’t shake the feeling that a bunch of old dudes concocted this in a laboratory. Sometimes I can get down with that sort of thing – like Katy Perry – but this just lacks a spark and feels like it’s preying on youth culture in a cynical way. That said, it sounds fantastic!”

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Ben Howard – ‘I Forget Where We Were’

“Very nice voice… standard, forlorn British-sounding bloke and a dark, intriguing backing track. Not sure this is the right song for this 70-degree weather. I’ll have to listen again when Seattle returns to its normal gloominess. It’s the sort of song that could hit you at the right time or be in the right movie and it would kill you.”

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The Black Keys – ‘Gotta Get Away’

“Seems like these guys are on autopilot making super sync-able filler. Love the sounds and Danger Mouse production, but the song is doing nothing for me.”

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Fall Out Boy – ‘Centuries’

“Oh wow. A Suzanne Vega sample? This isn’t my cup of tea at all. Another production by committee, but the song buried underneath the 100 Pro Tools tracks is admittedly catchy.”

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Meridian Dan – ‘One Two Drinks’

“This video seems pretty fun… partying around a bunch of shipping containers while the sun comes up? Sure, why not? I’m not sure exactly what he’s saying aside from talking about drinks and himself but it’s hard not to bounce to this.”

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Stevie Nicks – ‘The Dealer’

“I’d heard about Stevie’s new album of quickly-recorded lost songs from the classic years of Fleetwood Mac earlier, so I have been curious about this one. I wish the recording was from the era that the songs were written. It begins to approach that vibe, but leaves me wanting. I know our collection of songs on ‘Lost Loves’ is only from the last eight years, but even if we re-recorded them today they’d lose something. With this song, I just find myself imagining what could have been.”

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Words: Alex Rose

‘Lost Loves’ is out now on Big Scary Monsters. Find Minus The Bear online here. More singles round-ups right here

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