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Seeking Ghosts EP SOTF 018 October 26, 2010 |
Digital $6.00 |
CD $10.00 |
Stream
Trust
in Me
Track List
1. Trust in Me2. Down in Arcadia
3. Shut Up
4. The Shark
5. Wheelspin
6. Valley of the 9s
7. Wheelspin (Bearhome Remix)
Album Description
Seeking Ghosts EP is an unconventional pop album with songs ranging from an acoustic-driven classic rock track to a fast paced electric guitar and vocal driven power anthem to a spaced-out experimental jam. And there's a dance remix. But it's the production and quality of the songs that makes the transitions effortless.
Notes
Seeking Ghosts EP was recorded by Bryon Dudley in The Spacement with additional tracking and mixing by Matthew Dake. All songs were performed by Jordan Mull (guitar, vocals), Bryon Dudley (guitar, vocals, keys, bass), Greg Bruna (bass, keys, guitar) and Rachel Dudley (percussion, vocals) with additional help from Kate Kennedy (saxophone on "Valley of the 9s"). Artwork and design was created by Cassie Semerad and Austin Semerad. All songs were written by Strong Like Bear.
Press
Little Village
Album Review: Strong Like Bear – Seeking Ghosts EP
By Kent Williams • Dec 3rd, 2010 • Category: CD Reviews, In the Mag
It’s easy, if you live in Iowa City, to look upon Ames with pity larded with contempt. You’re conditioned to cringe at yellow and red. You hear “Ames” and immediately think “thick-necked Ag majors.” You don’t much like the men of Iowa State either.
Which of course is unfair, and Strong Like Bear’s Seeking Ghosts EP proves there’s some good things going on in Ames, at least in the music scene. Despite the whimsy of their name (always say it with a fake Russian accent!) the songs on Seeking Ghosts are pretty earnest, or maybe earnestly pretty. An Iowa City band might be tempted to take these songs and include some screaming, feedback freakouts or theremin solos, but Strong Like Bear seems intent on staying out of the way of the songs.
The arrangements are kept simple but sufficient–guitars, bass, drums and voice. The singing is pretty plain as well, but in that late-‘80s indie way: write a good lyric, set it to a serviceable melody and then do your best to enunciate and hit the notes. And yet, on the opener “Trust In Me” they sing the chorus in close harmony, so you know they’re not amateurs.
The most adventurous arrangement is on “Valley of the 9s,” which pairs a sampled tick-tock rhythm with electric piano, before the vocal arrives. I immediately thought of Radiohead (they even manage a nicely done saxaphone freakout at the end of the song) but the song works on its own terms. Without sounding derivative or dated, most of Seeking Ghosts would have fit into the mid-’80s rotation on KRUI with REM, the Replacements, and Throwing Muses, and that’s not a bad crowd to be hanging with.
Ames Tribune
Strong Like Bear’s ‘Seeking Ghosts’ EP a great listen
By Nate Logsdon
Special to The Tribune
Published: Sunday, October 24, 2010 8:03 AM CDT
The local rock band Strong Like Bear started out
as the acoustic duo of Bryon Dudley and Jordan Mull. I remember
seeing their first performance ever at The Boheme (R.I.P), and
cheering when Jordan took a scat solo. As a duo, the pair strummed
acoustic guitars, took turns soloing and specialized in ear-tingling
vocal harmonies. Rachel Dudley soon joined the band on drums, which
enhanced the already rhythmic nature of the songs. And then earlier
this year, Greg Bruna started playing bass, and the band went from
being a coffeehouse-friendly acoustic jam to a full on electric rock
band.
And now the well-loved four-piece band has put out its first
release, a generous seven-song EP called “Seeking Ghosts” on Sleep
on the Floor Records. It is a great listen, and an excellent
introduction to the band’s sound. Strong Like Bear specializes in
strong melodies (the morning after one of their shows, you are
guaranteed to wake up singing their songs) and rich vocal harmonies.
The opening song of the EP, “Trust in Me,” has a little of
everything that SLB does best. The song’s central melody is
unforgettable and the layers of harmony on the chorus are perfectly
balanced. Listen carefully at the chorus, and you’ll hear Bruna move
up the neck of the bass for an awesome little riff that really makes
the song groove. Bruna is one of those bass players who started as a
guitarist and brings a driving sense of melody and motion to his
bass lines. That sensibility is a great fit for the SLB rhythm
because it complements Rachel Dudley’s light touch and essential
grooviness.
Fans of SLB will be glad to hear the crowd favorite “Shut Up” on
the EP. I think this song qualifies as an Ames classic. The chorus
is an irresistable sing-along: “Just shut up, smoke your cigarrette!
I’ve heard it all before and I’m not gonna cry for you this time.”
The lovely voices harmonizing behind the chorus add a lovable
sweetness to the song’s attitude.
Oh, and don’t forget the consistently precise and excellent guitar
tones employed throughout the record. This is, after all, a
guitar-driven rock band and SLB brings the chops. Listen, for
instance, to Bryon Dudley seamlessly alternating between a flowing
guitar line and a crunchy, distorted riff on the musical bridge of
the song “The Shark.”
“Seeking Ghosts” is a killer EP: fun to listen to with lots of
tonal variety and great songwriting. Listening to the EP made me
think of all the other SLB songs I’d love to hear recorded. If this
is an indication of what the band can do in the studio, then I hope
a full-length album is in the future.
Strong Like Bear
“Seeking Ghosts EP”
Sleep On the Floor
Ames-based Strong Like Bear opens its debut
recording, “Seeking Ghosts EP,” with its tightest, most contemporary
song, “Trust in Me,” which would suggest to listeners that there is
more to follow on the EP’s remaining six tracks. But that simply is
not the case as the quartet of Jordan Mull, Bryon Dudley, Greg Bruna
and Rachel Dudley quickly shifts into classic rock mode on songs
like “Down in Arcadia,” “Shut Up” and “The Shark,” which rely on
acoustic driven, loose rhythms, laid back vocals and quirky lyrics.
Even the closing dance remix of “Wheelspin” is drenched in hippie
experimentation that might appeal more to neo-Deadheads than fans of
indie-rock. Whether that is a good thing depends on your taste, but
I prefer the vocal and instrumental performances of the first track.
CV
(For a list of Strong Like Bear tour dates, visit
www.sleeponthefloor.com.)