Review Summary: "It's rare to feel this expensive."
Minus the Bear are one of the few indie bands I’ve heard that have the uncanny ability to craft uplifting, energetic music, as well as slow, brooding affairs so naturally, sometimes both in the same song, seamlessly. One might be dismissive about or, contrarily, amused by the band due to their often ridiculously-titled songs, which belie the raw talent that every one of the members possesses. Complex hooks and truly impressive guitar work are the backbone of the band’s unique sound, complemented beautifully by tastefully placed synth effects and infectious beats.
They Make Beer Commercials Like This is the Seattle band’s fourth album counting both EPs and LPs, and largely set the stage for the direction they’d expand upon in
Menos El Oso.
The album starts off with perhaps the catchiest song of the band’s career, “Fine + 2 Pts.” By the time the chorus comes in it’s impossible not to get lost in the groove set by droning synth and infectious drumwork. After an explosive conclusion, “Let’s Play Clowns” starts in, showcasing Jake Snider at his lyrical best. The song is also home to one of the best choruses in MTB’s catalogue and shows what I feel is some of Erin Tate’s most interesting drum fills on the album. “I’m Totally Not Down With Rob’s Alien” is the first song on the album that doesn’t follow the precedent so far set for up-tempo, traditionally structured tracks. Instead, the band focuses on creating a mesmerizing, meandering number, the chorus of which couldn’t fit any better, as Snider croons ‘And I swim / Out as far as I can / Float on my back / Just waiting for nothing...’ It’s moments like this that make MTB stand apart from their peers so distinctly.
“Pony Up!” has recently become one of my favorite songs on the album. It’s not an instrumental, but Snider’s vocals are so monotonous and subdued, it feels as such, and has an atmosphere totally separate from the rest of the album, but not out of place in any way. Eventually, an acoustic guitar comes in on one stereo channel, while Dave Knudson's dizzying electric guitar stays on another. A fairly simple mixing trick, but nonetheless integral to the song’s atmosphere. Originally, this song closed out the album, and satisfactorily, but on the Suicide Squeeze remaster a bonus song is added, titled “Houston, We Have Uh-Oh.” This song works as a great closer, perhaps even better than “Pony Up!,” bringing back the fast pace of the first few tracks. ‘Sometimes you’re really alone,’ Snider repeats and the song fades out to the soft collision of cymbals and distorted guitars.
Due to the lyrical themes and largely carefree atmosphere,
They Make Beer Commercials Like This feels much like a vacation, and a badly needed one at that.
