Bear & Moose presents their forceful debut Bear Moose. The Portland duo impresses with 24 tracks steeped in blues, psychedelia, punk, folk, prog rock and garage band excess.
Bear & Moose is guitarist, singer and songwriter Eric Mueller and drummer/percussionist Simon Lucas, who also contributes backing vocals. The duo is based in Portland, Ore., the indie rock capital of the United States.
“I’m originally from Chicago; Simon is from the San Francisco Bay Area,” Mueller says.
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Bear & Moose presents their forceful debut Bear Moose. The Portland duo impresses with 24 tracks steeped in blues, psychedelia, punk, folk, prog rock and garage band excess.
Bear & Moose is guitarist, singer and songwriter Eric Mueller and drummer/percussionist Simon Lucas, who also contributes backing vocals. The duo is based in Portland, Ore., the indie rock capital of the United States.
“I’m originally from Chicago; Simon is from the San Francisco Bay Area,” Mueller says. “We both studied music in college and relocated to Portland. The city is overflowing with creativity and culture, which lets us share our music with an audience that’s open to innovative sounds.” Bear & Moose has been playing together for two years and has made a name for themselves with their high energy, indefatigable shows. “We dress in white on stage and perform as many songs as possible without stopping. We’re loud and energetic and have great rock moves.”
Bear & Moose capture the power of their live shows on Bear/Moose, their aptly named double album debut. “Since there are two of us and we have such a wide range, I thought it would be fitting to present as many sides of the band as possible,” Mueller explains. The duo went into Cloud City Sound with engineer Justin Phelps (Dead Kennedys, Mars Volta, Cake) and cut the 24 songs on Bear Moose in three days of intense recording. The album was bounced to half-inch tape to get more of an analog sound and open up the low end, since there’s no bass player. The result is a bracing sonic assault that showcases the band’s keen balance of melody and invigorating noise.
The tunes on Bear/Moose cover a lot of musical and emotional ground. On the affecting love song “Love Lost Alone”, Mueller blends finger picking and distorted power chords to support a delicate, reverb-drenched vocal. Lucas plays a double time rhythm against the tune’s considered melody. Lucas drops a hint of samba into his percussive approach to “Run” while Mueller adds a simple rippling guitar figure that intensifies the song’s tension. The bridge opens up with big chiming guitar chords as Lucas drops into a straightforward rock backbeat. “What We Call Home” drifts into singer/songwriter territory with Mueller’s delicate, echoing vocal and minimal guitar drifting quietly along until it devolves into a noisy coda; folk metal perhaps? Other standouts include the clanging R&B of “I’m Back”, where Mueller’s vocals suggest Van Morrison, “Wear the Wolf”, which blends 50s rock with 90s indie rock and the sort disjointed post-modern excursion and “Poor Man Blues”, marked by Mueller’s grinding chords, stratospheric guitar noise and Lucas’ inspired cymbal crashes. “The album is alternative, experimental, psychedelic, bluesy and progressive with a folky, garagey feel,” Mueller states. “Simply put, it’s upbeat rock ’n’ roll with enough confusion and chaos to keep it interesting.”
Mueller and Lucas first met several years ago at Humboldt State University in California. Mueller was studying bass and was impressed by Lucas’ stick work, although the two didn’t play together that weekend. Fast forward to Portland in 2009. “I started Bear & Moose to explore the possibilities of loud rock guitar,” Mueller says. “Bear & Moose came from a song I wrote. I always thought that if two animals were going to get along and rule the Pacific Northwest, it would be a bear and moose. I’d just finished playing a gig in Portland when my drummer told me he was done and moving to San Francisco. I remember being half drunk, packing up my gear and jamming it into my Honda when I saw the familiar face of Simon Lucas watching me. I said, ‘Dude! Remember me? Want to be my new drummer?’”
Lucas signed on and, at the first rehearsal, the duo found they had a secret deep space connection, blowing away audiences with only two instruments - drums and guitar. Mueller may write the songs, but they take shape with input from Lucas. A lot of jamming and experimentation goes on at the studio they set up in Mueller’s basement. “I have a 90-year-old old woman who can hardly hear on one side of me and meth heads on the other side, so we can play as loud and long as we want,” Mueller says. “We’re able to produce a large, expansive sound using only two instruments. On the album, there were a few overdubs of acoustic guitar, piano, percussion and lap harp, but it’s mostly guitar and drums. I’m proud to share this music with people because it was made with a lot of heart and soul and rocks like mad.”
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…shrink me down again
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