Behind a formidable wall of internet-driven buzz, Bear in Heaven’s I Love You, It’s Cool is drawing attention from all over the web. From Pitchfork to NPR and back again, the one word we’re hearing a lot of is “pop.” But try as I might, I am not finding pop anywhere on this album. And that’s a good thing.
In the years since their last release, Beast Rest Forth Mouth (2010), Bear in Heaven has toured the world. What only the surest of fans will know, however, is that BRFM was hardly the first album by these wily vets. They’ve been playing together for nearly a decade and have spanned the musical genre spectrum form jazz to electronic to Latin and most places in between. Pop, though, in its commercial, hooky, radio-ized form, was nowhere to be found. With ILYIC, Bear in Heaven are simply moving forward in a natural progression from where their last album left off. Just as before, the electronics are thick, the vocals are dark and brooding, the guitars are effected to oblivion, and the drums are a force to be reckoned with. However, they have taken huge strides to deepen every one of the aspects that made BRFM such an undeniable success two years ago.
The electronics, while still layered on with a heavy hand, shine through with myriad textures and techniques. Gone are the songs comprised entirely of dark pads and low-register two note chords. Clearly, Jon Philpot has come a long way in his synthesis skills. Similarly, Philpot’s vocals are no longer a Satanic growl. His melodies have a newfound catchiness that was distinctly lacking before now, and – as showcased specifically on “Warm Water” – his voice itself is carrying songs in the way that only a compelling lead singer can.
Drummer Joe Stickney has reprised the role of driving force, as his techno-reggaeton-Latin-tribal infusion of beats keeps the listeners swaying and thrashing for the entirety of the album. Nary is there a moment of respite from the onslaught of unpredictable crashes and fills, as evidenced most notably on “Space Remains.” Along these lines, Adam Wills’ guitar, while hardly recognizable as such, is a wash of distorted and mind-bending sonic collage that is also relentless in its power to lift each song to unexpected heights.
The cherry on top of all of this technical and sonic advancement is the sheer quality of recording, especially when compared to the relatively lo-fi BRFM, that Bear in Heaven has achieved with producer David Wrench at the helm. As Philpot said in an interview earlier this year, “He loves taking chances. I can’t imagine anyone else being able to do what he did for us.” “Wrenchie,” as the band calls him, took a wild animal into a recording studio, tamed it, and gave it a haircut. What emerged is an improved Bear in Heaven, with a refined, polished skill and ability to thrill listeners. I Love You, It’s Cool, in all its well-performed and impeccably produced glory, is not pop…not by a long shot. But it is certainly more accessible than anything Bear in Heaven has released previously. And that, too, is a good thing.
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