10/04/2008
In August 2006, Dylan Rau (vocals/guitar) brought together Ted Feldman (guitar), Val Loper (bass) and TJ Orscher (drums) in a small NYC practice space. The original plan was to flesh out some demos Rau had been working on but each quickly saw and heard the potential for a band; a band that would be unique sounding yet widely accessible.
Focusing on the rhythm and percussion that Orscher and Loper bring, Bear Hands strive to bring the driving beat to the foreground and to marry it with the contemplative lyrics of Rau and inventive guitar lines of Feldman. This musical creativity combines and combats ideas set forth by pioneers of the rock genre.
In the US, they recently self released a 4 song EP entitled ‘Golden’ which was produced by Andrew Schneider (Cave In, Pelican) which is expected to get a UK release in the very near future. They have put a new demo of Vietnam up on their myspace (www.myspace.com/bearhandsband) which will be on the debut album.
NME placed them in their ‘Everyones Talking About…’ section, Spin.com had them as band of the week, the Daily Star were “wooed” by them at SXSW, New Yorks L magazine put them on the cover of the bands you should know issue and Alternative Press think they are one of the top bands of 2008.
Reviews:
“…the group you wish you were in.” - NME
"A stylish local indie-rock foursome with sinewy postpunk rhythms." - Time Out New York
"Riveting, devil-may-care rock" - Spin.com
"For the past month, we've been telling everyone within earshot about Bear Hands, an unsigned up-and-comer out of Brooklyn that should be on the radar of every indie label." - Entertainment Weekly
"..While hints of lo-fi indie and post-punk v2.o float about on their debut, the songs catch fire from their own spark. No grungy depression or post-millennial anxiety, just solid tunes.." - Alternative Press (top 100 bands of 2008)
David Jensen Photography:
https://www.davidjensen.co.uk/
