Exclusive Pre-Release Track-By-Track Review: Minus The Bear’s ‘Lost Loves’

“We can’t wait for Lost Loves to contagiously infiltrate the hearts of the public on October 7th!”

“Lost Loves is the perfect blend of seven years worth of songs too good to make it to previous albums”

-SwitchBitch Noise

As Minus The Bear anticipate the release of the forthcoming full-length Lost Loves, out October 7th via Dangerbird Records, the band have premiered the song “Cat Calls & Ill Means” on Noisey.com. The seasoned Seattle, WA five-piece will embark upon an intimate club tour this fall in support of the new release as well as the 10th anniversary re-release of their fan favorite EP, They Make Beer Commercials Like This. (Tickets On Sale Now)

Pre-order Lost Loves via Dangerbird (pre-order link)

Pre-Release Track-By-Track Review:

Electric Rainbow: “What did you do, you’ve got some heat on you”. Seems as though someone has caused some trouble and better flee to Mexico. Minus the Bear has always stood out to me with their simple yet signature laid back eighth note snare fills which this tune comes right out of the gate with. The heavy yet catchy chorus reminds me of the guitar tone and style of one of my favorites, No Knife.

Surf-N-Turf: A simple pedaling guitar with a bit of slap back delay introduces this song that soon morphs into a very pleasing chord progression. The concept seems to be of a struggle to rejoin with someone, but being many obstacles in the way, it is frustratingly prevented. I hear a lot of 90’s elements to this track particularly with vocalist, Jake Snider’s choice of melody and phrasing. Very enjoyable listen.

Broken China: A very guitar driven tune that finds its way into a weird warped dueling solo. What comes to mind is Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood getting on his hands and knees with his guitar and going to town on his pedals. Broken China, describes the ending of a relationship with the first lyrics being “One last kiss” Jake tells the tale of a woman that leaves him and seamlessly moves on. Does the drum performance towards the end of this track seem a bit loose or am I high? Overall, solid track.

Walk on Air: This song really utilizes a familiar quality of MTB, which is their use of what almost sounds like an upbeat ska feel (with their own unique MTB treatment of course). While taking advantage of upbeats they strategically place syncopated rhythmic vocal phrases over it, all the while keeping it catchy. They also experiment a little bit with time signatures. There’s a portion that’s in 5 and then a portion that although in 4/4, it’s phrased in a “measure of 3, measure of 5” pattern. It’s a very subtle thing, but that’s what keeps both musicians and the common listener both pleased. Balance and moderation kids!

Patiently Waiting: This is a very different track that strays a bit from what I’m used to hearing out of MTB, but also makes it stand out from the others in a good way. Electronic drums and a groovy backbeat allow listeners to get a little “hip hoppy” with it. I noticed a lot of the chord progressions used by MTB are very simple and have the primary purpose being to support the vocal melodies. In this case, the chords have some movement and color to them that stand out a bit. The momentum of the progressions really adds another dimension to this number.

Cat Calls and Ill Means: Very solid song. From a producer’s stand point, those drums and bass sound amazing. The solid crack and snap of the snare added to the room sound and then bassist, Cory Murchy’s wet, and gritty lines laid over it is perfect…Seems like a really fun song to play. The guitars on the bridge are well arranged and compliment each other nicely as they weave in and out of each others melodies. Cat Calls and Ill Means really sets a mood of being on tour with not a care in the world as Jake states, “We don’t care, we don’t seem to care, each of these nights seem to connect”.

Invented Memory: A groovy little number that pulls some late 80’s early 90’s vibes with the use of an electronic kit doused in reverb. The vocal melodies on this track are particularly strong.

South Side Life: I really appreciate sparse instrumentation, which this track utilizes particularly well. So many bands try and cram everything into a tune with the mentality of “the more, the better” which in most cases ends up hindering the music. Here you’ll hear a very subtle twinkle of acoustic guitar ambience that really allows the bass to take the forefront a bit and do some really cool things like landing on scale degrees other than the root to completely change the color of chords, but then resolving to keep those ears pleased. A band that comes to mind when listening to this track that takes advantage of solidifying instruments and embracing their silence is a French Kiss Records band called Rahim.

Your Private Sky: Time signatures stand out with phrasings in 9 and 12. Seems crazy and hard to grasp, but as said earlier, they really know how to incorporate these intricate phrases while maintaining accessibility to the common listener. I particualry enjoyed the bridge of this song as it broke down into a dancy number that had similar drum qualities of the band The Dismemberment Plan with vocal phrasings that reminded me of Q and not U.

The Lucky Ones: The closing track to the record feels the most like a classic MTB song. They really hone in on some very catchy melodies. Give it a listen below…

I have a hard time picking out a single on this record, which could be taken as a good or a bad thing. There are so many records out there that have one or two singles and the remainder of the album is garbage. With Lost Loves, that is far from the case. I really appreciate the fact that MTB holds true to their quarky, unique sound yet still allows all of the songs on this record to stand apart from one another in their own way. From start to finish I would say this album is very solid. Only listening once, I can’t quite tell if it holds up with Menos El Oso or Planet of Ice (my personal favorites), but the best albums always require a few listens to gradually become a favorite. Thanks to the boys for sending this my way to give it a pre-release track-by-track review and be sure to support them on the road (tour dates listed below).

Cheers,

Mike Abiuso / SwitchBitch Noise

Upcoming Tour Dates:

* = w/ O’Brother

# = w/ Young Widows

& = w/ Mansions

OCTOBER

14 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Cafe * SOLD OUT

15 – Brooklyn, NY – St. Vitus * SOLD OUT

16 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair *

17 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre * SOLD OUT

18 – Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts *

19 – Washington, DC – Rock & Roll Hotel  *

21 – Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop #

22 – Detroit, MI – Magic Stick #

23 – Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge #

24 – Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock #

25 – Des Moines, IA – Wolly’s #

27 – Denver, CO – Marquis Theatre

NOVEMBER

01 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile &

20 – San Francisco, CA – Slim’s &

21 – San Diego, CA – Casbah &

22 – Pomona, CA – Glasshouse &

23 – San Luis Obispo, CA – SLO Brewing Co. &