Posted on: September 2, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Bear Hands – Golden EP / 2007 Freedom in Exile / 4 Tracks / http://www.bearhandsband.com /

Bear Hands start out their “Golden EP” with their own interpretation of indie rock. This means that there are hints of the energetic alt-country punk of a Lucero, the prim and proper alt-rock of Weezer, and even a little hit of the fuzz and meandering arrangements that brought Jane’s Addiction to prominence all those years ago. “”Long Lean Queen” thus comes forth with styles and sounds that will get individuals interested, but what distinguishes Bear Hands from other similar-sounding acts is the fact that they are able to put their own stamp on every second of the “Golden EP”.

The title track continues many of the same approaches and genre links that “Long Lean Queen” did but varies up the sound of the band enough to place them into a dance-punk meets funk framework. The track is still catchy, still will get individuals singing along, and gives the band that much more momentum coming into “Sickly Brunette”. “Sickly Brunette” shows that Bear Hands can shift their style slightly and still not lose a bit of momentum. The amount of chaos present during this track has no comparison anywhere else on this EP, and shows that the band can be spontaneous and still put forth the same type of hooky and easily approachable tracks, even when they don’t have a stated game plan. The disc ends with “Bad Blood”, putting forth the drums to a point that they become the focal point of the disc. These four cuts are more than enough to show that Bear Hands are an act that wish to take up the vacuum left by the disappearance of Cake in the last few years. They have compatriots in both Say Anything and Franz Ferdinand, so I believe that their star can only rise in the years to come.

Top Track: Bad Blood

Rating: 7.1/10

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