Photo by: Ryan Russell
Minus the Bear is heading out on an intimate tour this fall in honor of the release of Lost Loves and to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of They Make Beer Commercials Like This. Suicide Squeeze Records is proud to announce reissues of They Make Beer Commercials Like This, along with 2007’s Planet of Ice (see Brooklyn Vegan debut).
“Pop” is a tag that’s been assigned to Minus the Bear throughout their career. It’s been used to set a distinction between the unique brand of complex indie rock they introduced on their first EP and the more angular and aggravated sounds of their previous bands Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving. It’s also a tag that was thrown around frequently in the wake of their streamlined fourth album, OMNI. And it’s a descriptor that immediately comes to mind within the first few seconds of their classic second formal EP, They Make Beer Commercials Like This. Now celebrating its 10-year anniversary and first time in print since 2011, Beer Commercials is the evolutionary step between Minus the Bear’s first two landmark albums, Highly Refined Pirates and Menos El Oso. Opening track “Fine + 2 Points” remains one of the band’s strongest opening tracks in their discography, charging out of the gates with a syncopated stomp that comes across as a more agitated take on Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Outta My Head”. If Minus the Bear were looking to make pop music without any of its major-scale bubblegum trappings, they nailed it here. The band follows it with “Let’s Play Clowns” and “Dog Park”-nods to Highly Refined Pirates’ formula of frenetic clean guitar work, bombastic choruses, and Jake Snider’s lyrics of detached romantic nostalgia. These tracks may represent Minus the Bear’s original trademark version of pop, but on songs like “I’m Totally Not Down With Rob’s Alien” the band eschews it’s restless energy for atmosphere and dynamics, creating a sound that’s inspired more than a handful of contemporary melodic post-rock bands. By the time the band belts out “Pony Up!” the listener has watched the three-year sonic transition between Minus the Bear’s first two full-lengths transpire within under half-an-hour, with the their earlier math rock predilections yielding to the tightly wound club-banging pedalboard trickery that defined their sophomore album. Even if Beer Commercials doesn’t fit within your definition of pop music, the unorthodox energetic charm of this relatively low-profile release serves as an exciting reminder of why Minus the Bear became one of the most important and influential indie rock bands of the new century.
PRE-ORDER: THEY MAKE BEER COMMERCIALS LIKE THIS
Following the success of Highly Refined Pirates’ forward-thinking guitar gymnastics and Menos El Oso’s groundbreaking glitch rock, Seattle’s premier pop revisionists Minus the Bear dug into some of rock music’s most ostentatious years for inspiration for their 2007 album, Planet of Ice. While their earlier material found the band absorbing and repurposing the virtuosic dexterity of math rock, the airtight sonic manipulations of turn-of-the-century IDM, the drum and bass groove of contemporary R&B, and the cerebral pop foundations of Television and The Police, the band prepped for their third full-length by immersing themselves in prog legends, jazz rock mavericks, and other audiophile heroes of the ‘70s. The title alone conjures images of Yes’s ‘Relayer’ album art, and the influence of the elder statesmen’s symphonic scope can be felt throughout Planet of Ice’s lush and intricate arrangements. You can also hear the band channel the ominous instrumental interplay of Lamb-era Genesis on “Dr. L’Ling”, the deceptively savvy musicianship and pristine production of Steely Dan on “White Mystery”, and the tightrope walk between ethereal space and pre-metal riffage of Pink Floyd’s “Echoes” on “Lotus”. Not that Minus the Bear completely abandoned their earlier style-elements of Menos El Oso’s sample-driven technique can be heard on the lead single “Knights”. But the heart of the song ultimately belongs to the haunting Fripp-esque guitar lines spliced between verses. After being out of print on record since 2010, Suicide Squeeze is proud to reintroduce Planet of Ice’s creative marriage of classic motifs and modern musical wizardry with a vinyl remaster courtesy of Bernie Grundman.
Minus the Bear Tour Dates:
SAT SEP 20 – West Hollywood CA, Sunset Strip Music Festival w/ Crosses, Kaiser (TICKETS)
TUE OCT 14 – Pittsburgh PA, Club Cafe w/ O’Brother (VIP) (TICKETS)
WED OCT 15 – Brooklyn NY, Saint Vitus
THU OCT 16 – Boston MA, The Sinclair w/ O’Brother (VIP) (TICKETS)
FRI OCT 17 – New York NY, Gramercy Theatre w/ O’Brother (VIP) (TICKETS)
SAT OCT 18 – Philadelphia PA, Underground Arts – Wolf Building w/ O’Brother (VIP) (TICKETS)
SUN OCT 19 – Washington DC, Rock & Roll Hotel w/ O’Brother (VIP) (TICKETS)
TUE OCT 21 – Cleveland OH, Grog Shop w/ Young Widows (VIP) (TICKETS)
WED OCT 22 – Detroit MI, Magic Stick w/ Young Widows (VIP) (TICKETS)
THU OCT 23 – Chicago IL, Bottom Lounge w/ Young Widows (VIP) (TICKETS)
FRI OCT 24 – Minneapolis MN, Triple Rock w/ Young Widows (VIP) (TICKETS)
SAT OCT 25 – Des Moines IA, Wooly’s w/ Young Widows (VIP) (TICKETS)
MON OCT 27 – Denver CO, Marquis Theatre (VIP) (TICKETS)
SAT NOV 1 – Seattle WA, The Crocodile w/ Mansions (VIP) (TICKETS)
THU NOV 20 – San Francisco CA, Slim’s w/ Mansions (VIP) (TICKETS)
FRI NOV 21 – San Diego CA, Casbah w/ Mansions (VIP) (TICKETS)
SAT NOV 22 – Pomona CA, Glass House w/ Mansions (VIP) (TICKETS)
SUN NOV 23 – San Luis Obispo CA, SLO Brewing Company w/ Mansions (VIP) (TICKETS)
