Bear in Heaven

I have no idea of how to describe Bear in Heaven’s sound. It is instantly as confusing and frustrating as watching a love story turned horror movie. At first listen, the music feels like a triumph, something new though old, exciting because of how it pulls you in. Within thirty seconds the music has changed to a new phase. A minute later, it has gone somewhere else. It jumps from King Tubby influenced basslines to Cinematic Orchestra’s theatrics, to the pop nature of art rock. There are Eno-like moments with meditative vocals and sappy synths followed by rolling drum solos that invoke Billy Cobham and Mahavishnu Orchestra. Decades are spanned in mere moments, from psychedelic to early 90s rock. At times the mix is delightful, rolling from dreamily warm to nightmarishly delicious. “Red Bloom of the Boom” moves from the grating “Fraternal Noon” to the intriguing “Shining and Free”, which bangs in with a trip-hop inspired bass and drums before moving into the eerie soloing of Eva Puyelo Muns. This song becomes the album’

s piece de triomphe, delivering a savory mixture of low end, driving drums brought by Gerhardt Fuchs, and a memorable hook.

“Red Bloom of the Boom” out on the Hometapes label is a delusional ride, dragging you deeper into the world of John Philpot, Joe Stickney, Sadek Bazaraa, Adam Wills, and James Elliott. It is at once intelligent and cryptic, invasive and majestic. There is a host of talented musicianship and complex structure that makes the album’s offerings both hard to swallow and forces the listener to surrender their idea of what will happen next to the whims of the band. All of this places Bear in Heaven into a niche that is so intricately carved, few others will be able to join it. Personally, I’m looking forward to June 14^th when Bear in Heaven plays at the Earl so I can patronize some amazing musicians, and dive further into their world. Maybe I’

ll emerge with a better understanding of where they were trying to take me.

Click below to experience all the strangeness that is Bear in Heaven with the video, “Shining and Free”, directed by David Merten of Graphic Havoc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs1wemVl8ek

Buy Red Bloom Of The Boom From Amazon Here