Seattle's Minus The Bear has always occupied a paradoxical space within the indie/posthardcore scene—humorous yet serious, proggy yet poppy, accessible yet resolutely indefinable. As a result, the group's fanbase has traditionally been made up of fellow musicians, armchair music snobs and followers of the members' other projects (Botch, Kill Sadie, etc.) as opposed to, you know, people who just want to hear a good, easily digestible tune.
OMNI, the band's fourth full-length, seems poised to expose Minus The Bear to a wider (but still pretty underground/discriminating/hipster-ish) audience, provided its fluid, sophisticated style can be heard above the din of the many other acts jazzing and synth-ing up their ambitious fringe-rock.
This article appears in May 5-11, 2010.