Bear Claw "Embrace" Angular Post-Punk

Download: Bear Claw - "Embrace"

Bear Claw, a Chicago-based trio with a sharp, jabbing brand of smartly dissonant, yet melodic post-punk - fans of Fugazi and Shellac should eat this stuff up on a spoon - will release its latest album, which is entitled Slow Speed: Deep Owls on Sept. 25h, 2007, through Sickroom Records.

What makes Bear Claw so distinctive is that there are absolutely no guitars in the band's sound. The group consists of three members - Rich Fessler, bass, vocals; Rob Raspolich, bass; and Scott Picco, drums - who have been playing together since 2003. They put out their Steve Albini-produced first album, Find the Sun out on Sickroom in 2004. That album was selected by then-WLUW DJ Mike Gibson (who hosted as this fine program).

If "Embrace" - a crunchy number that combines the suspenseful push-pull of a group like the aforementioned Shellac with the heart-on-sleeve punk melodicism of Jawbreaker - is any indication of what kind of record Slow Speed: Deep Owls (also produced by Steve Albini, in addition to being mixed by Albini's Shellac co-hort Bob Weston) will be, then you should expect the accolades for Bear Claw to continue.

So far, the band has no scheduled dates for Minneapolis, but we'll let you know when they do.

In the meantime, when 9/25 comes, purchase the album here, Below, you can listen to two additional MP3s from Slow Speed: Deep Owls and two more from Find the Sun, respectively.

Slow Speed: Deep Owls

Download: Bear Claw - "By Popular Demand"
Download: Bear Claw - "From Point A To Point B"

Find the Sun

Download: Bear Claw - "Chameleon"
Download: Bear Claw - "Jigsaw"

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Mass Shivers - "Womanizing Metal Studs"

Download: Mass Shivers - "Womanizing Metal Studs"
Download: Mass Shivers - "Mossy Nethers"

Mass Shivers, a Chicago-based band that combines Beefheart, Eno and Can, has released its second full-length, entitled Ecstatic Eyes Glow Glossy, today on Sickroom Records. I didn't get a chance to see them last Monday at the Empty Bottle but I've checked out the band's website and I have to say that these guys are nothing but off-kilter excellence. I was able to find two tracks from Ecstatic Eyes and my favorite of those is "Womanizing Metal Studs," which you can download for yourself at the top of this post.

Buy Ecstatic Eyes Glow Glossy here

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)