ALBUM REVIEWS

Bearcraft
YESTREEN
HOTTWERK 16.08.10
@www.vanguard-online.co.uk


Bearcraft are at first glance a thoroughly modern band – everything about them, the look, the name screams out ‘Look at us, we’re so utterly NOW!!’ Yet delve deeper and their sound and philosophy has a distinctly retro flavour – its shiny eighties pop but with a cool, contemporary feel.

Bearcraft also seem to exist in a bizarre conflicting world of mythical creatures, pagan folklore and the advancement of human interaction with technology. First track ‘Hero Man Gets to The Castle’ is worryingly geeky as it’s about the irony of eighties computer games using medieval imagery.

Their sound and style owe a large debt of gratitude to a great many recent British psychedelic pop bands - ‘Out on a Limb’ mirroring the frazzled craziness of Super Furry Animals. ‘Coming Unstuck’ echoes The Television Personalities quirky brand of eccentric pop.

The title track is a shimmering slice of avant-garde pop. I’d never heard the word ‘Yestreen’ before, but apparently it’s an Old English word meaning yesterday evening which I rather like - once again showing that they’re fascinated by pitching the modern world at odds with more pagan traditions.

Tracks like ‘The Werewolf’ and ‘The Omega Man’ also show that they can funk it up – adding a bit of Hot Chip style dance to the eclectic blend. Final track ‘Liberated in a Barn’ is like a song of two halves – the first part is a hard edged electro thrummer while the second half gives ways to a lilting ethereal folk strum which is a rather lovely way to close the album.

You’re unlikely to hear any of the standard song themes on this album. No love songs, no great political statements, or simple boy meets girl tales. But there are girl uploads herself to a computer and exists on a non biological level songs (‘Polly’s Garden’), that old chestnut eh? If you think that sounds intriguing rather than totally nuts then allow yourself to be consumed in the extremely peculiar world of Bearcraft.

Steve Claire

www.myspace.com/bearcraftmusic