19 The Bears For Lunch


Introduction

A bit of a long gap since the last review, caused by involvement in other projects such as the Cinerama Cup, setting up a new podcast called Steve's Mix Tapes, and, y'know, Christmas and all that...

Anyway, if you've been following the blog, you'll know that I'm getting towards the end of the albums that I've listened to properly thus far. (And if you haven't, all is explained in the introduction.) However, unlike Let's Go Eat The Factory and Class Clown Spots A UFO, The Bears For Lunch was one that - despite my limited experience with it - did contain a fairly wide range of songs that had stuck with me.

The Album

Thunderously belligerent

I appreciate that I'm in danger of becoming a bit of a stuck record with this, but GBV have thus far tended to begin their albums with cracking opening tracks. 'King Arthur The Red' is thunderously belligerent, the muscular riff underpinned by fluid soloing. And we're back in 'impenetrably abstract but fascinating' lyrical territory: 'Violence, hatred in the rains / kill the best and move the trains.'

The standout track for me is 'She Lives In An Airport', a heady whirl of crunchy riffs and catchy hooks peppered with memorable rhymes and some admirably gnarly soloing. Other highlights are 'Hangover Child' (grinding malevolence that eventually bursts into an uplifting refrain), 'The Challenge Is Much More' (a glowering thrash, heavy on the melancholy) and the measured arpeggios and doleful melody of 'White Flag'.

The album concludes with a pair of strong tracks. The tender, ragged ballad 'You Can Fly Anything Right' is genuinly touching; 'Everywhere Is Miles From Everywhere' rounds things off with a carefully balanced blend of coiled bluesy riff and cascading arpeggios overlayed with yet another of those 'how come someone didn't write this before' melodies.



Apples fresh

The lo-fi moments work reasonably well. 'Have A Jug' is refreshingly direct; a simple idea that doesn't outstay its welcome. 'Smoggy Boy' thrashes around for half a minute with commendable energy. The twitchy, recorded-on-a-walkman 'Dome Rust' is similarly spirited.

'The Military School Dance Dismissal' is a stately, sparse piano anthem with an earnest tone. It's also awash with fascinatingly random wordplay: 'Super balls, they cause the problem hearts / apples fresh, and screw you in an outer space hypnotic / it's a bite.'


Not exactly inspiring

As was the case with the last couple of LPs, there are a few moments on Bears that are just too flimsy and lightweight for me. There's a certain endearing charm to 'The Corners Are Glowing', but it soon becomes rather cloying. 'Waving At Airplanes' is a gossamer-thin piece of whimsy; 'Skin To Skin Combat' and 'Waking Up The Stars' are similarly twee and mawkish. 

Elsewhere, there's some decent if not exactly inspiring stuff. 'Up Instead Of Running' has a solid enough chugging riff, but the 'sha-la-lee' refrain quickly becomes a little tiresome. 'Amorphous Surprise' has plenty of vim, but also has a vocal hook that straddles the line between catchy and irritating. 

'Finger Gang' is kind of fun, but has b-side/bonus track written all over it. You could say the same of 'Tree Fly Jet', which offers urgent abrasiveness but not a lot else.




In Conclusion...

Like the previous two releases, there's a bit of a 'what next?' vibe to The Bears For Lunch: it veers between chunky riff-laden garage rock, lo-fi fragments and lightweight whimsy. However, it's a slightly more consistent set of songs than its two predecessors; it's also far more interesting lyrically. Like Class Clown, it's bedevilled by overly twee and flimsy moments, but overall it sits in 'generally solid if not spectacular' territory.


Added to the 'GBV Favourites' playlist: 

Seven out of nineteen is a decent enough showing...
  • King Arthur The Red
  • Hangover Child
  • The Challenge Is Much More
  • White Flag
  • She Lives In An Airport
  • You Can Fly Anything Right
  • Everywhere Is Miles From Everywhere

Album rank:





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