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| Minus The BearMenos El Oso2005 Suicide Squeeze 
  Review by: Dan Perrone See others by this writer Minus The Bear's Official Site (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on August 23rd 2005
For some reason, every time I listen to Menos El Oso, Minus The Bear’s second full-length album, I feel as if this will be the album to make or break them. Speculating that this eleven-track collection would propel them into the limelight wouldn’t be such a far-fetched idea; the band has got tremendous airplay potential (especially here, which will be detailed later), a great “we all used to be in bands with credibility” platform (Botch, Sharks Keep Moving, Kill Sadie, etc.), and tongue-in-cheek yet intelligent lyrics. However, on the other hand, the skeptics will have a field day with Menos El Oso; it’s a major change in the band’s sound, replacing upbeat, almost spastic guitar work for a more refined, smoother, and a tad more boring sound. It seems to me like this will end up being an album people will either like or hate; I would put myself on the like side of the fence, for it’s a nice -- if anything -- slightly flawed effort, but far from the band’s best work.
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its taking a long time for this album to grow on me. i wanted more "highly refined pirates" yeah. so it did take a while but i like this record quite considerably more than highly refined pirates. this record is truely tremendous. i think this album is amazing...probably one of my favorites i love the entire album..i think they hit the mark again..i love it all! david knudson is an innovator on guitar and the material released here demands multiple listens. its like a big fucking cake that i and many others will sink our teeth into for a long while. This is album is great!!! The past albums are amazing too. Some people just don't know what the fuck they are talking about. "Is this the band that just does taps on the fret board" That's some fucking talent, not that Atreyu and other shitty lame metal bands out now. If you know anything about music, which 90% of the people who leave comments on here don't, you would know that this is one of the best albums to be released this year. I don't know if it beats out Nile's Annihilation of the Wicked or Aborted's the Archaic Abattoir. I'll have to give it a couple listens. what in gods name is the guy below trying to say? "to the guy two posts below who hasnt learned to properly cut and paste...what the hell are you talking about with your punk points and shit? what in my comment made you think i care about all that and when you were listening to rkl? sorry, it's sometimes hard to tell if someone is joking in print form (i'm not being sarcastic) "AWS: "a band that schools legends like husker du and motorhead" AWS: "a band that schools legends like husker du and motorhead" Maybe I'll have to give this more attention, but as of right now, it's still fairly good, but not like "Pirates" was. And for the record, the new video is fuckin aus-rotten-awesome. I wanna know where the hell a band as obscure as these guys get the money for a video like that, though. Or maybe I just don't know anything about videos and it wasn't really that expensive... I hope these guys come around the D soon on a weekend night, I'd love to catch their show for the first time. It's no Highly Refined Pirates but I still like it a good bit. if this is a grower, then I'm gonna be loving this soon. is that really him? weird. welcome to the dark side. Welcome, Scott Weber! Take off your shoes and stay a while. This band is terrible "is this the band that has the guitarist that just does octave and triad taps on the fretboard the whole time?" is this the band that has the guitarist that just does octave and triad taps on the fretboard the whole time? Booooo. One of the best albums of the year. I love their brand of dance-indie. The album has such a good flow and vibe to it. I was listening to a few songs off this, and I swear to god, I almost fell asleep. Snore-core revisited. underground...i wasnt going to go there, but come on, the guy asked, and this time i took the opposite side...also, some people in the bled tried to bring it back, i dont know if it will ever die. What an effortlessly inspiring album. I'm surprised you don't feel "The Fix" is a standout though. It's one of my very favourite songs of the whole year. jones this album is amazing. I am glad they made it a bit different than their past works - i didn't want the same album twice. and for the record, the game needed me is their first single (video on their page) and the song is fucking awesome. not lackluster like the reviewer said. there's my 2 cents. Psh. "who is AWS?" Godsmack kicked Story of the Year's ass "Ha! Remember when these guys got their asses kicked by Disturbed?! Ha! Remember when these guys got their asses kicked by Disturbed?! I tried listening to a few songs. I' ve heard so many good things about this band. I just cant seem to get into it right now. There just doesnt seem to be much energy. As far as AWS and this goes I like Ruiner better. But its really not right to compare the 2. they are 2 entirely different styles of music. Ha! Remember when these guys got their asses kicked by Disturbed?! "uhh yeah because i think it's a better album I gotsta cop this. this is more worth the money than Ruiner and you know it...Ruiner's got 4 good songs on it best...at least this is original...I don't understand how this got a lower score Brilliant album, but it's so odd that I see how anyone could have not really enjoyed it. This one is a shoo in for record of the year. No Contest, its better than *gasp Cave In. Wow This review sucks, top 5 cd's of the year as far as I'm concerned... "You give AWS a better score then this?!... the heavens are falling." Say what you want about "most albums don't take time to sink in" but this one DOES so just accept it and if you listen to it enough you will hear Album Of The Year all over "Menos El Oso"... You give AWS a better score then this?!... the heavens are falling. This requires time. Its dense as a muthafuka, in that interview with the band in Ap, they commented on trying to make a less dense record. I don't really hear it, but after MUCH listening your so very handsomely rewarded. I agree the vocals are much more cohesive with the instrumentation. His voice used to stick out like a sore thumb. It blends much better here. This album isn't that good. Not anywhere near as good as their previous work. I liked this album a lot, but I agree with the reviewer that there is something missing here. I found Pirates to be wonderful instrumentally, but sterile in how detached the vocals were from the band. i havent heard this album yet but their recorded stuff never really stood out for me. however this band live is damn good. Great review. I'm thinking about getting this album. Memphis and 53rd took 60 plus days to sink in to me subconscious as one of the many great tracks on this record. Give it time. I doubt the reviewer (who really can't be blamed) had that much time. I just made this disc a priority. nope, the reviewer is correct. this one and highly refined pirates are thier only two full lengths. as far as this cd being boring, i totally disagree. it's a healthy combination of the old sound we know and love and the new bear that we're not used to. it took me a bit to get into this cd at first, but now it's one of my favorites and i may even like it better than thier other material. i can't wait to see these guys again. 2nd full length? I completely agree amd I am on the like side, but I feel that it too is missing something. It will be in a top ten for the year, but hey I see it this way there will be another album maybe they will try something different there too. did anyone else think that their lyrics on past releases were a bit trite. All they sang about was livin it up on lakes and yachts, drinking, and girls. I found the new one to have much more depth with some actual socially conscious songs (game needed me and el torrente). I found them to be more clever pop before, whereas this release is more thoughtful, dreamy rock. Meh. I like this alot-certainly more restrained than their previous work though. The moving lyrics are still there though. this stuff is not bad but where is The New Pornographers review? So dooes this still count as a S/T album... I did not like this at all for the first 10 or so listens, but if there was ever an album that was a "grower", it's this Yeah, I'd give it the same score. But I think it's disappointing because I thought the band pulled off the soft/loud dynamic really, really well on the EP, and there's next to none of that here. Still a good album, but it won't be appearing on my top 20 like it will many, many others I'm sure. |
