sort of a cd review: da bears s/t full length cd

The world famous da bears- s/t
Compact disc review
Running time 58:35; 15 compositions

1. Leonardo says- piano!
2. galactic canabalism(sic?)- fuzzy distorted vox. Piano!
3. winter in rivendell- singer sounds like flaming lips singer. Flaming lips are good reference point- flaming lips… with piano? Reference point- Pavement.
4. doing the sailors dance- fuzzy distorted vox(2).
5. instantly recognizable mosh riffs- yes, def. flaming lips as ref. point. Phish? Local reference points: Kite Flying Society, Old Man Hands, Vision of a Dying World. Kind of jammy hippie rock music. No piano on this song- I like it better! Jammy hippie guitar solo!
6. hey! Don’t it feel all right?- more of a shimmery pop feel to this song. This track is a winner!
7. I want a girl who knows html- 8+ minute jam; REALLY sounds like slanted & enchanted/crooked rain era pavement. Hooky! 3 minutes in- really, really sounds like Pavement. 6 minutes in- this song is the emotional heart of the album. I’m thinking about who is the song writer for this group- Ryan Solomon is my guess. They should clear that up for the next record. It’s easy to discern an artistic vision already: fuzzy/gauzy California style indie rock. Probably the only thing standing between this band and some indie blogger nation love is their name… consider changing it?
8. don’t make up the rules(as you go)- sounds like a Hawaiian ukulele song
9. t. v. shows- rocking! I like this song, too. Winner!
10. cage of ribs- horns! Sounds like broken social scene! Not annoying. Actually, a positive at this point in the record- give it a little up lift.
11. grand talking marx- more horns! Def. sounds like Broken Social Scene right now…and Pavement. I think some credit is in order for the songwriter/arranger. This is capable work!
12. the battle of unnumbered tears-instrumental.
13. standards of a rock album-
14. the galaxy is biiiiiiig- pysch rock fuzz out
15. drunk in the city- bleah.


i think this band was from san diego but now they are in philadelphia. not sure whether they're acutally a band or whether ryan solomon is the kingpin. there is some talent in here, partic if this group is as young as i think. or the talent may lay mostly with ryan solomon. i probably would have reviewed this cd earlier but for the band name and packaging, both of which need rethinking. da bears is a terrible name for this band.

the sound is right up the alley of "indie blogger nation": the arrangement/vox hits all the high points of bands like pavement, broken social scene and flaming lips. there is enough variety within the songs to make listening to this cd substantially less exhausting then i anticipated. da bears are going nowhere with that name; but a name change might produce some results. i would also advise keeping an eye on front man/songwriter(?) Ryan Solomon in the future- i wouldn't be suprised if he develops into an indie blogger nation fav.