Suicide Squeeze Records, 2005
Menos el Oso opens with a rhythmic guitar and a delayed, reverbed guitar intertwining, leading into vocalist -- and guitarist, don't you forget -- Jake Snider's evocative lyricism. In the simplicity of these lyrics, they find their strength; you will not find the depths of academia here, rather, you will find simple human emotion, raw in all its beauty, belting lines like "We sat on the corner of Memphis and 53rd. / As they filled the tank we had a drink. / She whispered, 'Let's get moving.'"
This trend is continued throughout the album, undoubtedly to the delight of listeners. Fortunately, quality lyrics and vocals are not the sole driving force -- though one could argue that they are not the primary driving forces, let alone a driving force at all -- behind Menos el Oso. Shifting from densely layered guitars to conversely smooth, rhythmic guitars, all the while maintaining a sharp, steady percussive beat, Minus the Bear displays a versatile arsenal of skills, from seductive guitar musings, to slowly enigmatic keyboard attacks.
Unlike a great many albums featuring similar styles of drumming and dense guitar layerings, Menos el Oso is actually listenable. Though Minus the Bear's writing style and unquestionable quality certainly help to stave off such unwanted effects of their style, the understandably -- and thankfully meticulous production by both Minus the Bear themselves, and Chris Common, who just recently joined These Arms Are Snakes as a replacement for previous drummer Ben Verellen. What is most refreshing about this album's production is the placement of the drums: never does the percussion take front-seat on the track unless such is necessary to the development of the piece. Perhaps the most notable achievement in production on Menos el Oso is "El Torrente," one of the most well-balanced tracks in recent memory.
Menos el Oso starts strong -- "The Game Needed Me" is captivating and enrapturing, showing clear signs of what follows. The subtlety of the music, even behind dense guitars and drums, becomes readily apparent after repeated listening; keyboards that were once repressed quickly make themselves apparent and the most interesting of guitar effects shift from being something noticed only in passing to being a true additive element. The depth of this album is its strength. Only one question remains, even after listening to Menos el Oso repeatedly: does this, in fact, count as a self-titled album?