ARTIST:
BEAR IN HEAVEN


ALBUM:
BEAST REST FORTH MOUTH


KEY TRACKS:
BEAST IN PEACE
LOVESICK TEENAGERS
WHOLEHEARTED MESS
CASUAL GOODBYE


"don't bother leaving, we're already gone"


There are powerful albums out there that make you stop in your tracks, turn up the dial, and just soak it in.  This is one of those albums.  It's incredible to me that 3 guys from Brooklyn have created such a huge, all encompassing sound.  This album is so much bigger than you can imagine.

First and foremost I would be lying if I said Bear in Heaven was a regular on my playlist.  However, this album was given to me by someone who's musical tastes I really respect and knew that I had to give it a try.  I didn't know much about Bear in Heaven, well actually I still don't, but I did have a few singles which I got off a free sampler from SPIN.  Man have I been deprived!  This album is huge.  


It took hold of me from the start because the opening track is unbelievable.  Beast in Peace starts small, like a little flame, then explodes into a colossal track of tribal percussion (seriously, this drummer is bad ass), ethereal vocals, and all encompassing synths.  This music really envelopes you in its psychedelic waves and almost primes you for what the album will be like.  However, instead of having that initial flame die out, Bear in Heaven really smolders. 


Wholehearted Mess and You Do You stand strong after the initial hype of Beast In Peace, these tracks are really advanced and have so many layers of sound that it's nice to peel them apart on each listen.  There's also a level of maturity in these compositions that you simply don't hear from newer acts these days.  These guys have been around the block - and judging from the pictures, they know what the fuck's up.  

Lovesick Teenagers is most likely the track you'll recognize from all the music blogs out there.  I certainly did.  It's very on trend for what was produced on most 2010 releases.  There has been a really strong 80's influence in music lately and certainly that presence is on this track.  However, instead of sounding dated, Bear in Heaven, have taken 80's synths and have transformed them into a sort of new wave composition.  This track certainly stands out among all of the unusual sound combinations that pepper this album.


For me, what's most interesting about the album is how it comes full circle.  Casual Goodbye is the album's closer and could also be titled Lovesick Teenagers Part 2.  The closer track reprises Lovesick Teenagers instrumentals with parting lyrics:  "it's a casual goodbye, goodbye".  I really really like it when artists respect an composition enough to treat it more like a soundtrack or an experience rather than just a collection of singles.  Respect and integrity for the full album certainly deserves recognition in my book.


So although it ends with Casual Goodbye, after the first listen it was more of a wholehearted welcome:  I've just met one of my new favorite bands! 

LISTEN:  BEAST IN PEACE  |  LOVESICK TEENAGERS  |  WHOLEHEARTED MESS  |  CASUAL GOODBYE

NEXT WEEK:  BECK  |  GUERO

ARTIST:
The Incredible String Band


ALBUM:
Wee Tam and the Big Huge


KEY TRACKS:
The Yellow Snake
The Half Remarkable Question
The Iron Stone


"my cousin has great changes coming...wings"


I have been curious for a long time to hear the band that was supposedly "freakier and folkier than mother-fucking Devendra Banhart".  And it is, without a doubt, true!  This Scottish band practically paved the way for psychedelic rock bands with their jangling sitars and erratic drum beats.  Even freakier (and folkier) are the philosophical (and sometimes non-sensical) lyrics that accompany these outlandish melodies.  Did I mention that this group at one point lived communally in a farmhouse when writing music?  So of course, what resulted is quite interesting.   


Wee Tam represents these two very different parallels in songwriting as founders Robin Williamson and Mike Heron pen songs songs both deeply spiritual (The Mountain of God) and oddly eccentric (Ducks on a Pond).  While upon first listen, they don't sound too different from the folk scene today, especially with folk acts like Banhart and Joanna Newsom around.  But when you take to heart the time this band was making music, these compositions were leaps and bounds beyond average songwriting.  As a result, the Incredible String Band were considered the avant-garde along with -and possibly inspiring- The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.  


Wee Tam and the Big Huge represent some of the ISB's best artistry.  I'm a sucker for a good sitar so the use of this particular instrument throughout the album is great.  There are times when the music seems a bit repetitive, but all in all the tracks are so peppy and overtly happy that you don't seem to notice.  Williamson's and Heron's vocals are also a delight to listen to.  Oddly, they sound very similar to John Lennon and on certain tracks the sound is so similar that it's uncanny.


In this case, it was difficult to really listen to individual tracks within the album as a whole since it seemed so cohesive.  Bottom line, and much like the folk acts that have followed them, this particular group didn't make music because it would sound good to everyone.  It sounded good to them and that's all that mattered  Either you appreciate this music or you don't, and whether you do or not is the least of their troubles.  

LISTEN:  THE YELLOW SNAKE  |  THE IRON STONE  |  THE HALF REMARKABLE QUESTION

NEXT WEEK:  AUSTIN CRANE  |  A PLACE AT THE TABLE