Seattle's indie rock darling, Minus the Bear, melts audiences with songs from new album

Originally published April 30, 2008 in The Orion.
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The word epic gets thrown around when talking about music - an epic jam, an epic album. Yet, nothing is more epic than a music and laser combination.

Seattle's Minus the Bear took part in the usual album-release festivities for its latest record, "Planet of Ice."

The band, consisting of guitarist Dave Knudson, bassist Cory Murchy, drummer Erin Tate, vocalist and guitarist Jake Snider and keyboardist Alex Rose, made several radio station appearances and performed in record stores. However, the most distinct form of promotion was an album-listening party at Seattle Laser Dome.

"We like the idea of actually sitting down and listening to an album in its entirety," Rose said.

He remembers Tate coming up with the idea of the laser show, but the band had no part in the creation, Rose said. The laser artists were left to interpret the music.

It is not easy to take the laser show on the road, but Minus the Bear will dazzle Chico with its reflective form of progressive indie rock Friday in the Bell Memorial Union.

The show is part of a nationwide tour with Portugal. The Man and The Big Sleep, Rose said. Minus the Bear picked the two supporting bands.

"Those two bands were just better than the others on the list," he said.

For Minus the Bear, the tour included a stop last weekend in Indio for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Rose said. The band played the festival Saturday and had time to watch legendary artists such as Prince and Pink Floyd's Roger Waters.

Playing under the hot sun is a big contrast to Minus the Bear's songs on the chilling "Planet of Ice."

The desolate album released in August is part of the band's evolving sound, Rose said. Previous albums had a lighter, brighter feeling, but band members didn't want to bore themselves or fans by recreating the same album.

The band came up with the album title and then wrote songs around it, Rose said.

"We said things like 'that sounds icy' or 'that sounds cool,'" he said.

"Planet of Ice" is one coherent concept. The cover art of an arctic world with snowy mountains matches song titles including "Ice Monster" and "White Mystery." However, the sense of coldness is not daunting. A sun and sky of clouds lie above the white mountains.

Instead of sounding depressing, the songs give a sense of hope. "Knights" is a mind-bending track, showing the band's roots in math rock. The band plays around with time signature and adds spacey electronics.

Minus the Bear also proves "Planet of Ice" is not a dreadfully somber record with its video for "Throwin' Shapes." The video shows two rival athletes jogging and dancing around a city. The two meet up for a fierce game of imaginary basketball. Most of the band's videos are visually pleasing with a goofy storyline.

"We try to make something we would personally enjoy," Rose said.

Minus the Bear makes thoughtful music, but band members are lighthearted. When the band formed in 2001, it quickly became noticed for its silly song titles. The band's debut release, "This Is What I Know About Being Gigantic" only has seven songs, but features tracks titled "Hey, Wanna Throw Up? Get Me Naked," and "Just Kickin' It Like A Wild Donkey."

Bri Saseen, a senior environmental studies major, is a big fan of the band's first full-length album, "Highly Refined Pirates." The album features a song called "Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse."

"It's definitely my favorite for its bitchin' track names," she said. "I can't tell you how many mixes are probably floating around entitled "Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse."

The band members like that others have fun with their music though, Rose said. Last year the band released a remix album of 2005's "Menos El Oso." The remix album, "Interpretaciones del Oso," contains 11 songs remixed by various artists including Minneapolis rapper P.O.S.

"It's nice to have other people experiment with our songs," he said.