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Back in 2005, Seattle quintet Minus the Bear were riding the wave of a swift upward trajectory with their blend of '90s mathrock fretboard savvy, early '00s electro-indie textural depth, and the wistful melodicism of the more mature strain of Midwest emo. So it was an interesting time for the band to undergo a stylistic sea change. Looking beyond their fellow guitar slingers, Minus the Bear instead found inspiration in the more adventurous pop producers of the era and went full steam ahead with a revamped sound of glitchy guitar loops, modern R&B rhythms, and swirling electronic tapestries on their 2005 sophomore album Menos el Oso. The stylistic shift was a gamble in the waning years of indie rock orthodoxy, but the risk paid off and Minus the Bear's popularity exploded. Twenty years later, Menos el Oso still sounds fresh and vibrant while simultaneously capturing the essence of a specific era where the rules and formulas of guitar-forward music were breaking down. To celebrate the album's anniversary, Suicide Squeeze Records and Minus the Bear are offering up Menos el Oso (Deluxe 20th Anniversary Edition), featuring an expanded tracklist including five previously unreleased demos. The eleven tracks comprising the original Menos el Oso remain untouched for this deluxe edition. From the moment the needle hits on InchThe Game Needed Me,Inch the listener is reminded that there's no need to mess with keyboardist Matt Bayles' air-tight engineering and production on the album. The template is established right away David Knudson's staccato guitar samples and pedal modulations, Erin Tate's souped-up club beats, Cory Murchy's syncopated backbeat basslines, Bayles's heady synth hooks, and guitarist/vocalist Jake Snider's soulful guitar lines and trademark croon. There's an element of revelry and melancholy across the entire album as Snider casually describes vignettes from t
