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Minus the Bear is an American indie rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2001, and comprising members of Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving. Their sound has been described as "Pele-esque guitar-taps and electronics with sophisticated time signature composition." Minus the Bear have released six albums and four EPs. The band's final line-up before disbanding in 2018 consisted of Jake Snider (vocals, guitar), Dave Knudson (guitar), Cory Murchy (bass guitar), and Alex Rose (synthesizers, vocals). On July 17, 2018, the band announced their retirement and accompanying farewell tour. Their final live performance on their original farewell tour was December 16, 2018, at The Showbox in Seattle. In 2025, the band reunited and announced an anniversary tour to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Menos el Oso.
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Reviews
Love this one!
This was fine. A bit pop-rock like here and there, but not extraordinary
Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Drilling, El torrente, Michio’s death drive
Menos El Oso is the second album by indie rock band Minus the Bear. It is full of edge up-tempo rock songs. It bares resemblance to the sound of the debut album of Bloc Party (edgy high pitched guitars) and that is not a bad thing. The songs are also well crafted. "Drilling", "The Fix", "The Game Needed Me" and "Pachuca Sunrise" are good songs.
I liked this a lot, I thought the writing was really interesting and it had an interestingly eclectic alt-rock sound. I thought it ran out of gas a little in the last quarter, and the lead vocalist is solid but a little limited. Overall though I'd listen to more.
Was mildly familiar with this band pre-listen, mostly due to the frontman's known obsession with using several Line 6 DL4 delay units as part of his sound. The effects are clearly present on this LP, some mild math rock influencing the overall early-aughts indie guitar-driven sound. Enjoyed the listen, both from an expressive and technical standpoint, and found a few tracks to add to my library. Not sure it's the most memorable album in the world – felt artistically cohesive but not wholly groundbreaking. Still, I'm all for a good guitar-focused album and thought this was a cool add.
Mid 00 alt rock radio sounds
The most fascinating part of this album is that the singer sounds like Adam Rich from Pressure 4-5. Wow.
Real nice
I think we've really reached the saturation point of 2000s indie rock on this list. It's perfectly fine but just not that unique. My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 3/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No.
Yeah cool, weird rhythms and such
I remember not hating it, but not much else about it.
Most uninspiring vocals ever 2