Voids

Description

On their sixth album, Voids, Minus The Bear started with a blank slate and inadvertently found themselves applying the same starting-from-scratch strategies that fuelled their initial creative process.

Album opener Last Kiss immediately establishes the bands renewed fervour. An appropriately dizzying guitar line plunges into a propulsive groove before the chorus unfolds into a multi-tiered pop chorus.

From there the album flows into Give & Take, a tightly wound exercise in syncopation that recalls the celebratory pulse of early Bear classics like Fine + 2 Pts, while exploring new textures and timbres.

Invisible is arguably the catchiest song of the bands career, with Jake Sniders vocal melodies and Knudsons imaginative guitar work battling for the strongest hooks.

What About The Boat? reminds us of the math rock tag that followed the band in their early years, with understated instrumentation disguising an odd-time beat.

Erase recalls the merging of forlorn indie pop and electronica that the band dabbled with on their early EPs but demonstrates The Bears ongoing melodic sophistication and tonal exploration.

By the time the band reach album closer Lighthouse theyve traversed so much sonic territory that the only appropriate tactic left at their disposal is a climactic crescendo, driven at its peak by Cory Murchys thunderous bass. Not since Planet Of Ices Lotus have The Bear achieved such an epic finale.

All in all its an album that reminds us of everything that made us fall in love with Minus The Bear in the first place and a big part of that appeal is the sense that the band is heading into uncharted territories.

First studio album since Infinity Overhead (2012).

Produced by Sam Bell (The Cribs, Weezer, Snow Patrol, Bloc Party) and mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound.

Die cut LP jackets with printed inner sleeve and digital download coupon.

Splattered coloured vinyl LP edition available to independent retailers.