Minus The Bear Planet Of Ice Zip
Leighann Cobetto
Despite much argument, Planet of Ice is a good album. It's debated flaw however, is that it doesn't sound like any of the other Minus the Bear releases. As a music lover and reviewer, however, it's something I can respect. Unlike most of the previous albums, the band has spent a lot of time on the vocal sessions, blending them nicely with a very smooth arrangement of music. The guitar riffs don't rip through you, but flow nicely from one ear to the next, especially in "Knights," one of my favorite tracks. The bass is an instrument of space and time, it doesn't just follow the band, but is an individual part to the over all construction. A perfect example is the track "White Mystery." The bass starts off and sets the tone, the guitars seep through you, and the vocals come in with a powerful, yet comforting reassurance, "It's okay, we're still Minus the Bear." Planet of Ice is a synonym for smoothness. Everything feels atmospheric and full. It actually feels like a planet of ice, but in an obscure sense.
The disc's final two tracks "Double Vision Quest" and "Lotus" are obese in ways similar to Dr. L.L'ing" and "Part 2." Although not linked, the tracks share ideologies: go big, go boldly forward. It is here the applicability of the album's title comes fully into play. These songs are glacial in scope and size, stretching into the horizon, these songs could play soundtrack to the voyage of the Karluk, delineating in and out of a foggy conscience. Certainly, there's an element of masturbatory self-indulgence present, but the band's made a conscious effort thicken the tone. Murchy's bass on "Lotus" is electric, especially in the final two minutes when he, Knudson, and Ross sinisterly conspire with each other to paint a dark picture of the place that can only be described as a planet of ice: foreboding, lonely, and ultimately, introspective.
Hey, here's a short email interview we did a while back with the nice fellas that make up Minus The Bear. Their line-up boasts current and former members of Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving and if you love adventurous rock music, don't be shy and check out their latest album "The Planet Of Ice". PRT: Who are you and what would you like to tell our readers about yourself? Jake: I am Jake and I am in the band Minus the Bear. It's what I do. PRT: What were you doing ten minutes prior to this interview? Jake: I was eating pork at a mexican restaurant. PRT: Who are the other band members and what would they give me if I were a homeless beggar Jake: Erin, Dave, Cory and Alex. Maybe they'd give you some change, but most likely they wouldn't give you the time of day! PRT: Can you give me a short history of the band written in less than one minute? Jake: Dave, Erin, Cory and Matt got together and I joined soon after, did an ep with Suicide Squeeze followed by several other releases. Insane amounts of touring in the USA and over seas, and writing over the past few years have given the world what we now know as Minus the Bear. PRT: If Minus the Bear was the brain child of two (or more) older bands, who'd be mommy, who'd be daddy and in what Kama Sutra-position was Minus the Bear conceived? Jake: Mommy would be The Police and Daddy would be Pink Floyd. We'd have been conceived in the 'Yawning' position PRT: What would you like to tell us about 'The Planet of Ice'? Jake: What would you like to know? It's a rock n roll record. Much more rockin than our old stuff. Generally more guitar riffage. PRT: Titling the album 'Planet of Ice' made me think you disagree with Al Gore over the whole 'global warming'-hype. Do you think it's just a trend to be environmentally aware or is the global warming a natural thing that happens every couple of thousand years? Jake: It has nothing to do with global warming. Global warming is obviously real and supported by science, it's not a trend and its effects are being seen now...we may be past the point of no return regarding the Earth's environment. PRT: In what way has the band evolved over the course of three records? Jake: Not sure...I think we've progressed and created more interesting musical tapestries. We've let ourselves branch out more recently and I think we'll become more experimental in the future. PRT: I read somewhere that after the first record, you got labelled as a funny band (great music with funny titles and lyrics about drinking and girls) but you wanted to shake off that stigma. Why? And did it work out? Jake: I never thought the lyrics were humorous whatsoever. Sometimes light hearted, but there is not a single joke in the lyrics of a minus the bear song. A lot of songs are about drinking and most songs are about girls in one way or another, so not sure how that's funny. The song titles were just jokes. Not related to the lyrics. We want to shake off the stigma because people keep talking about it instead of the music (kind of like now!). It's not like we're the only band that had funny song titles...just the one that gets picked on. PRT: Are you still haunted by the Botch-history of some band members? Jake: Only dave was in botch. Not reallly. Sometimes kids yell 'botch' at shows and it's neither funny nor cute...just annoying PRT: Many people file Minus the Bear under 'indie'. I, however, see it more as smart pop music for music lovers. Where do you classify Minus the Bear yourself? Jake: I think we're a rock band. We're indie because we're on an independent label. Indie doesn't give any impression as to how music will sound...an 'indie' band on a major label for instance is an oxymoron. PRT: Music-wise, Minus The Bear is in the top league, pretty technical and, well, hard to play (perceived by a mere amateur). How do you guys challenge yourself in song writing and playing? And is there still any room for progress? Jake: We simply try to make music that's interesting to us. There's always room for progress...I don't think we've scratched the surface of our potential. PRT: In addition to that, how hard is it to write complicated music that is still accessible? Jake: Yes, that can be difficult. But that's this band's challenge. We always want to be able to marry the complex and the catchy. PRT: Even more than on 'Menos El Oso', 'Planet of Ice' focuses on atmosphere in the songs with these soundscape-y things. A conscious choice? Jake: Yes. PRT: What would be the three main differences between 'Planet of Ice' and Justin Timberlake's FutureLove/SexSounds? Jake: POI has more guitar, worse singing and a much lower recording budget. PRT: Hey, I just stole your iPod. What bands are on there that I should definitely check out? Jake: Tiny Vipers, Subtle, Cloudded, Pink Floyd, The Who, etc. PRT: Why did Minus The Bear cross the road? Jake: To fuck the chicken PRT: If you'd have to write a musical, what would it be about and what would it be called? Jake: It would be about cooking pork. It would be called 'Pork Funk'. PRT: What's the biggest Spinal Tap- moment in the history of Minus the Bear? Jake: Pretty much every show. It seems like we have moments that are ST worthy all the time....last night for instance I couldn't find the stage to save my life. PRT: Can you give us three reasons to buy 'Planet of Ice'? Jake: It's a fucking killer record, we need the money and people love it. In general PRT: What does the future look like for you guys? Jake: Very bright. We're going to tour our asses off and hopefully start writing soon. We're going to be everywhere all over the world. PRT: You have ten seconds to type your last words. Go! Jake: Holy shit, only ten seconds! And then, what, I'm dead? Damn...this is awful news..
O king, storm of majestic splendour, peerless Ninurta, possessing superior strength; who pillages the mountains all alone; deluge, indefatigable serpent hurling yourself at the rebel land; hero striding formidably into battle; lord whose powerful arm is fit to bear the mace, reaping like barley the necks of the insubordinate. Ninurta, king, son in whose strength his father rejoices; hero whose awesomeness covers the mountains like a south storm. Ninurta, who makes the good tiara, the rainbow, flash like lightning; grandly begotten by him who wears the princely beard; dragon who turns on himself; lion snarling at a snake. Ninurta, king whom Enlil has exalted above himself; hero, great battle-net flung over the foe. Ninurta, with the awesomeness of your shadow extending over the Land; releasing fury on the rebel lands, overwhelming their assemblies! Ninurta, king, son who has forced homage to his father far and wide! Inspiring great numinous power, he had taken his place on the throne, the August Dais.
Sighing, Roger Blanco scrubbed the whiteboard, taking care to preserve the equations around the doomed diagram. He was quite possibly the most mathematically inclined interior designer on the planet. As a counterbalance, he was probably the worst artist among the lot.
We are not sure what planet Heastie was on when he dismissed the need for reform, but here on Earth, a D-minus means our state government is a miserable failure at this ethics and integrity thing. Your work is not done.
PESCA: OK. Cut to, just as English was first used by the Picts - a Celtic tribe in northern Scotland - but it didn't really get good until Shakespeare - the same with LeBron James. He has perfected the art of basketball. He's the best basketball player in the world. His contract were up - was up. All these teams - the NBA has this weird rule. It works for them but doesn't work that well for an athlete like LeBron James, who, if he were like any other American and could get paid what the market would bear would probably get, you know, $90 million a year or something.
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