Send "Bear Hands " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 Does Wesleyan, the arty Connecticut liberal arts university, attract boys with raw, nasal voices and penchants for shimmering keyboards and huge waves of overdubbed psychedelic guitars to its halls, or does the school simply turn its students into those sorts of musicians? Either way, it has quite a track record of contributing to the Brooklyn music scene (see: MGMT, Amazing Baby, and the other band of Das Racist's Victor Vazquez, Boy Crisis). And now, following the success of MGMT, Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden's former classmates and opening act Bear Hands have thrown their hat into the ring too, finally releasing their full-length debut three years after issuing the Golden EP.What sets Bear Hands apart from not only their former school friends but also the rest of those outer-borough inhabitants enamored of reverb pedals, ramshackle rhythms, and throbbing bass, is their quirky sense of humor. Frontman Dylan Rau, who has both the unhinged bark of Isaac Brock and the reedy, sinewy whine of MGMT's VanWyngarden, sings about eating cats or Julien Donkey-Boy, the title character in Harmony Korine's bizarre Dogme 95 film. And despite its markedly slower pace and haunting arrangement, "Wicksey Boxing" has its own inherent wit, given that it takes its name from a slurred-drunk pronunciation of "whiskey boxing," a sport best to avoid. But amid such punning-- and other, more abstract lyrical turns-- Bear Hands have a softer, more earnest side, too. On "Belongings", Rau sings, "At the gentle age of nine, I bought my first 45/ And then I drink, yeah, I drink, yeah... I smoke a little weed." It's a song that's suffused with the excitement of first falling in love with music and a nostalgia for the innocence and excitement of youth. If anything, though, it is Burning Bush Supper Club's musically softer moments that are its weakest....full text |
| Lushbeat |
| Balancing Indie tendencies with quasi-commercial appeal is nothing new – the crossover rate of this generation’s Indie output is kind of staggering when viewed from the angle of someone who listens to more independent music than anything else. It’s difficult to ignore how easily some bands, quirky and seemingly far-off from what mainstream audiences (read: consumers) though they are, can slip in to the public consciousness without them actually being aware of what exactly they’re listening to. NYC’s Bear Hands look poised to accomplish the same with their oddly accessible full-length debut, Burning Bush Supper Club. A varied, yet mostly straight-forward take on modern post-Punk and Indie Rock, Bear Hands subscribe to the relatively mid-paced, slightly psychedelic (read: stoner) tones brought to the forefront by sonically similar bands MGMT, Miniature Tigers, and Bear In Heaven. Vocalist and Bear Hands creator Dylan Rau leads the group through 11 tracks of fuzzy, mildly electronic yet wholly organic Indie romps centered around failing relationships of all sorts. “Crime Pays,” the falsetto drenched opening track, and following track “Belongings,” set the pace for what’s to come – fuzzed out guitars over slightly dancey, booming drums, and Rau’s somewhat nasally, tone-varied delivery. Bandmates Ted Feldman, Val Loper, and TJ Orscher all play their respective roles ably, moving Burning Bush Supper Club from track to track with ease. Changing things up in subtle but significant ways, they help to keep Bear Hands from becoming a boring, late-coming MGMT clone. The band skirts dangerously close to inducing confusion on lead single, the shimmering, minimalist “What A Drag,” as Rau’s vocals are more than a little reminiscent of MGMT’s always strange delivery. The dance-Punk “High Society” more than makes up for it by adding some energy with a straightforward, relatively fast-paced jaunt. “Tablasaurus,” “Julien Donkey Boy,” and “Wicksey Boxing,” find the band utilizing atmospherics and asymmetrical song design, adding texture and subtlety to the mix (and a healthy dose of reverb) to balance out the more traditionally structured first few tracks. Their success is a mileage may vary situation for listeners, as the album’s opening leads you in one direction, while the band obviously has other intentions. “Blood and Treasure” positively jumps out of the speakers, especially after the slow-breathing, tranquil pace of the previous 3 tracks. Dancey in all the right ways, energetic and ear-catching, it’s easily one of the highlight tracks of the album. “Can’t Stick ‘Em” is another subtly dancey track that builds from the start in some intriguing ways, and was the accompanying track on their single release. The rambling, muddied “Camel Convention,” and the short, oddly upbeat “Tall Trees,” close out things out....full text |
| Mishkanyc |
| If you’re looking for a new favourite band you may have just found it. Brooklyn based Bear Hands have been an indie buzz band fave since the release of their first EP Golden in 2007. The four piece band led by singer Dylan Rau, have achieved crazy notoriety in such a short time frame so much so that they have an epic resume of heavy weight bands they’ve opened for, including Vampire Weekend, Les Savy Fav, The XX and MGMT. The exposure to such awesome talent must have rubbed off on the band because their debut LP Burning Bush Supper Club is an evolution of the band’s sound in multiples ways. Their previous work had a 90s alternative and punk inspired sound, while this new album is rooted more in an aesthetic of present day psych rock. There was a sense of urgency and angst in their older tracks (maybe due to the fact that Dylan Rau started the band to spite a romantic rival) that has dissipated to an elevated cohesiveness. One of the most notable differences is Rau’s voice and lyrics. At times on Golden his voice came off whiney, while on the Burning Bush Super Club his voice has maintain that unique edge to it but has lost the irritation. It’s because the band has grown into a sound where it compliments and nurtures Rau’s voice. His lyrics are more poetic and at times wonderfully abstract. They still keep some of that dance punk vibe going with “Blood and Treasure” but it’s a more polished sound. The album is wonderfully enjoyable with a mixture of upbeat spunky tracks and floaty mellow ones that only get better with every listen. Memorable tracks that really rock the boat are “Crime Pays,” “Julien Donkey Boy” (named after the brilliant Harmony Korine film), “Belongings”, and “Camel Convention”. I can’t do them justice trying to describe, just go listen....full text |
Bear Hands lyrics
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