Planet Of Ice

Performer: Minus the Bear
Engineer: Jake Snider; Chris Common; Alex Rose; Jake Snider; Alex Rose; Matt Cayles; Chris Common
Producer: Chris Common; Matt Bayles; Matt Cayles; Chris Common; Minus The Bear
Distributor: Alternative Dis. Alliance

Notes: Minus the Bear: Cory Murchy (bass guitar); Jake Snider, Alex Rose, David Knudson, Erin Tate. Personnel: Jake Snider (vocals, guitar); Alex Rose (vocals, saxophone, keyboards); David Knudson (guitar); Erin Tate (drums, percussion). Audio Mixer: Matt Bayles. Recording information: Redroom Studio; Robert Lang Studio. Photographer: April Brimer. Minus the Bear's second full-length release of 2007 (the first being the remix compilation INTERPRETACIONES DEL OSO), PLANET OF ICE marks the debut of new keyboardist Alex Rose, who replaces departed longtime member Matt Bayles. As on previous outings, the Seattle-based band mixes driving indie-rock with subtle slowcore and electronica touches, as best exemplified by the chiming and emotive "Knights." As evidenced on Planet of Ice, Minus the Bear's corner of the indie rock universe is much like that of Death Cab for Cutie's: smoothly melodic and tinged with all kinds of forward-thinking ephemera. "Knights" is dotted with electronic traces but driven primarily by spiky prog guitar leads and a driving pop hook. Nevertheless, there's also a grandiose side to Minus the Bear that strives for the arena and some kind of Incubus-like world of proggy, expansive guitar enchantment; it's indicated by the wheeling psychedelic accents on "Throwin' Shapes" and the slicing riffs of "Buryin' Luck." "Ice Monster" and "When We Escape" find the band hunkered down into spacy love grooves, while the icy plinks of "Lotus" locate even dreamier musical spaces. This is an album full of interesting harmonics, polished melodies, and singular arrangements, and overall a strong, hypnotic effort from the Seattle band. ~ Erik Hage

Spin (p.134) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[S]ublimely elegant and more maturely conceived. It comes to a head when glitchy synths skip into playful free-form guitar on 'Knights'..." Alternative Press (p.172) - 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "PLANET OF ICE finds the Seattle quintet exploring looser, more organic arrangements and indulging next-gen guitar god Dave Knudson's psychedelic side." Alternative Press (p.128) - Included in Alternative Press's '10 Essential Albums Of 2007' -- "Knife-edge guitar lines cut through swathes of synths propelled by the most innovative rhythm section in indie rock..."

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