Watch out for Bears !!

The twee pop explosion is growing exponentially daily (in fact, Sweden has so many twee pop bands it seems that there must be in the water!). This is reflective in the recent popularity of bands such as Camera Obscura, Acid House Kings, and Boy Least Likely To. Often Cleveland tends to lag behind when it comes to such trends. Lucky for us, in Chagrin Falls no less, Bears (you may recall us mentioning them in a post last week) were conceived.

Bears consists of Craig Ramsey (also of The Lovekill and Kiddo) and Charlie McArthur (formerly of Ache:Emelie). During the recording process, they were a two-piece but now they have been able to acquire additional members (including Rachel Hart from Plasma for Guns) allowing them to perform live.


It's not easy to categorize Bears in any way other than fun. However, it is clear where their influences stem from: The Beatles, Radio Dept., Belle & Sebastian, The Lucksmiths, and Elliott Smith. As for their first effort, the album is solid across the board, chock full of handclaps, tambourines, bells, and lush harmonies. Although, Jose knows Charlie we are not being biased -- it's just a great record. Released last month, the album will provide an excellent soundtrack for your summer. You can purchase it here, where all the eye catching artwork was done by Kate Pugsley (see below for a sample, and go to her website to check out more of her work).

We had a very difficult time choosing just two songs from their album, but here you go --

Jose's choice: [Mp3] Bears - Never Have to Guess A strong opening number

Kelly's choice: [Mp3] Bears - Stay A Shins-esque track

[Additional tracks can be streamed on their Myspace Profile]

**Go see Bears at The Beachland Ballroom's Tavern on Sunday, June 11th! Although Band of Horses is that same night, we are making an effort to see them before we head to The Grog and you should too!


Bonus:

While we're on the topic of Bears, here is another nice slice of twee pop...

[Mp3] Tigerella - These Bears