Minus The Bear
They Make Beer Commercials Like This
Limited Transparent Blue vinyl. “Pop” is a tag that’s been assigned to Minus the Bear throughout their career. It’s been used to set a distinction between the unique brand of complex indie rock they introduced on their first EP, and the more angular and aggravated sounds of their previous bands Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving.
It’s also a tag that was thrown around frequently in the wake of their streamlined fourth album, OMNI. And it’s a descriptor that immediately comes to mind within the first few seconds of their classic second formal EP, They Make Beer Commercials Like This. Beer Commercials is the evolutionary step between Minus The Bear’s first two landmark albums, Highly Refined Pirates and Menos El Oso. Opening track “Fine + 2 Points” remains one of the band’s strongest opening tracks in their discography, charging out of the gates with a syncopated stomp that comes across as a more agitated take on Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Outta My Head.”
If Minus The Bear were looking to make pop music without any of its majorscale bubblegum trappings, they nailed it here. The band follows it with “Let’s Play Clowns” and “Dog Park”—nods to Highly Refined Pirates’ formula of frenetic clean guitar work, bombastic choruses, and Jake Snider’s lyrics of detached romantic nostalgia. These tracks may represent Minus the Bear’s original trademark version of pop but on songs like “I’m Totally Not Down With Rob’s Alien,” the band eschews its restless energy for atmosphere and dynamics, creating a sound that’s inspired more than a handful of contemporary melodic post-rock bands. By the time the band belts out “Pony Up!” the listener has watched the three-year sonic transition between Minus the Bear’s first two full-lengths transpire within under half an hour, with their earlier math rock predilections yielding to the tightly wound club-banging pedalboard trickery that defined their sophomore album. Even if Beer Commercials doesn’t fit within your definition of pop music, the unorthodox energetic charm of this relatively low-profile release serves as an exciting reminder of why Minus the Bear became one of the most important and influential indie rock bands of the new century.
Delivery
We currently only deliver to the UK. Delivery costs are clearly provided at the checkout at the time of purchase. We offer free delivery when spending over £60 in one transaction.
| Royal Mail Second Class (order value below £60) | £2.95 |
|
|
FREE |
To qualify for free delivery please expect all your items to be delivered in one package i.e if you have ordered a 'pre-order' item please expect to wait until all your items are available before any are delivered.
We send our packages via Royal Mail. While we endeavour to get your purchase to you as quickly as possible.
We aim to dispatch all in-stock orders within 1–2 working days of receiving your order, excluding weekends and UK bank holidays.
Most in-stock orders should therefore arrive within approximately 3–5 working days of being placed, excluding weekends and bank holidays. Delivery times are estimates and may occasionally be longer.
Pre-orders
Pre-order items are not available for immediate dispatch. The expected release date is displayed on each product page.
We aim to dispatch pre-orders on or around their release date, subject to receiving stock from our suppliers. Release dates may occasionally change.
If your order contains both in-stock and pre-order items, we will normally dispatch everything together once all items are available.
Once dispatched, pre-orders are normally sent using Royal Mail Tracked 48.
Packaging
All our items are packaged in good quality cardboard packaging which should prevent any damage during transit. Please kindly note that any clingfilm or shrink wrap around the item is not considered part of the product.
Returns
If you decide that a product is not suitable within 30 days of delivery, you can return it to us at your own cost for a replacement or refund. Returns must be unused and in their original, undamaged packaging. Return address information will be included with your purchase.
If a product is damaged please get in touch so we can resolve it quickly for you.
Refunds
Refunds will be issues to the card that was used to purchase the item.
Refunds for returned items will be issued once the item has been received and checked.
Undelivered Packages
If a package is returned to us due to an incorrect address being supplied or because it was not collected from a local depot, an additional postage fee will be payable in order to resend. We will contact you to arrange this before anything is resent.