After stunning performances at (a packed) South Street Seaport and Pitchfork Music Festival, Bear In Heaven have just finished yet another national tour, joined along the way by Mountain Man, Beach Fossils and Twin Sister.
Next the band are off to the UK and Europe for a month of major festivals and sell out shows but don’t worry they’re back this Fall, bringing their epic live show to audiences acrosss the country including stops at Autin City Limits, Pop Montreal and opening for Crystal Castles.
Then the real fun begins when Bear In Heaven embark on another US headlining tour, expect to be seeing a lot more of these guys, the best is yet to come.
In other news…. Bear In Heaven, hot off the critical acclaim of their full-length Beast Rest Forth Mouth, have curated a remix album worthy of both headphones and dance floors.
With a roll call featuring the likes of The Field, Justin K. Broadrick (a.k.a. Jesu. Godflesh), Studio, and High Places, this new project, to be packaged alongside Beast Rest Forth Mouth and released September 14th on Hometapes and August 23rd in the UK, builds new sonic terrain — and the views are quite impressive from the top.
 “We don’t write songs in a day, or even a week,†says Bear In Heaven bassist/guitarist Adam Wills. “Most of them take months.â€
 Well that explains a couple things, starting with the simple fact that Bear In Heaven’s breakthrough moments—Grizzly Bear’s blog-baiting endorsement of “Lovesick Teenagers,†the “Best New Music†stamp Pitchfork plastered across the Brooklyn band’s second album, Beast Rest Forth Mouth—didn’t happen overnight.
Believe it or not, frontman Jon Philpot founded Bear In Heaven way back in 2003, using the sweeping soundscapes of his previous project (Presocratics) as a starting point for the Tunes Nextdoor to Songs EP.
 Four years and several lineup changes later, Bear In Heaven the band (rounded out by Wills, drummer Joe Stickney and multi-instrumentalist Sadek Bazaraa) emerged with their first fully-realized release, Red Bloom of the Boom.
A celebration of wide open spaces and not-quite-sounding-like-anyone-in-particular, it’s the closest Bear In Heaven have come to cutting a prog rock album, although Philpot insists, “We’re bigger fans of Krautrock. We’re suckers for that continual pulse and things that just hum. You should be able to feel music, not just hear it.â€
That’s certainly the case on Beast Rest Forth Mouth cuts like “You Do You†and “Wholehearted Messâ€â€”songs that reach for the stars with Cluster-like synth lines, Faustian effects, and steely motorik beats.
And then there are the sneaky moments that emphasize what a widescreen affair Beast is, including the massive, life-affirming choruses of “Beast In Peaceâ€; the queasy build and thundercloud climax of “Dust Cloudâ€; and the frayed electronics and death march drums of “Deafening Love.†That fan favorite went through 23 mix changes before settling into its final Apocalypse Now-groove.
“We know when a song is done,†explains Philpot, “but that doesn’t stop us from tweaking it over time. We’re actually still messing with our current ones!â€
The group’s restlessness is understandable when you consider their background, from Philpot and Wills’ film/TV work—something that’s taught them to tell stories through songs—to such side projects and one-off performances as the scale-climbing metal of Dark Vibe and the pure minimalism of Rhys Chatham’s Guitar Trio. As Wills puts it, “We’ve all been really lucky. To have spent time discussing music on a peer level with the likes of Tony Conrad and Rhys Chatham, it’s been an education.”
One bit of bad luck that’s followed Bear In Heaven since the start has been the amicable loss of members, right down to Bazaraa’s recent split. While the band’s left the door open for him, they’ve soldiered on as a synth-driven trio, including a triumphant string of shows overseas.
“As the lineup changes, we have to find new ways to keep the sound full,†explains Stickney. “Our solution has been more synths and samplers. We haven’t been kicking people out or anything, though. It’s been a drag every time one of our friends has decided to stop playing because we miss them and it’s a pain in the ass to learn how to play the music differently all over again.â€
“Trust me, there are lots of panic attacks,†adds Wills. “We aren’t 21—we have lives, wives, apartments to pay for…It’s crazy at this point to drop everything and just run with the band, but there’s no other option. We are living this, and we’re gonna see it through.â€
And the next step in that process? On the record shop side of things, Bear In Heaven will release a special double-disc edition of Beast Rest Forth Mouth this Fall The extra disc: a bonus 10-track remix album companion featuring The Field, High Places, Studio, Justin K. Broadrick (a.k.a. Jesu. Godflesh), and many more.
The group will take to the road again soon, headlining a North American tour (including a stop at Pitchfork Fest) in July, followed by a return to Europe for a month of headlining dates and summer festival shows.
US Fall Tour Dates
9/7 Nashville, TN – Cannery Ballroom w/ Crystal Castles
9/8 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade Music Hall w/ Crystal Castles
9/9 Orlando, FL – Club at Firestone w/ Crystal Castles
9/11 Raleigh, NC – Hopscotch Music Festival
9/12 Washington D.C. – Rock and Roll Hotel w/ The Hundred in the Hands
9/29 Ithaca, NY – Castaways w/ Twin Sister and Oberhofer
9/30 Montreal, QC – La Salla Rossa w/ Twin Sister and The Luyas
10/ 9 Austin, TX – Austin City Limits
10/26 Pittsburgh, PA – Brillobox
10/27 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
10/28 Bloomington, IN – The Bishop
10/29 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
10/30 Grinnell, IA – Grinnell College
11/2 Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
11/3 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
11/5 San Francisco, CA – The Independent
11/7 Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour
11/9 San Diego, CA – Casbah
11/10 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
11/13 Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon
11/16 Charlottesville, VA – The Southern
11/17 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
11/18 Cambridge, MA – Middle East Downstairs
11/19 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
Remix Tracklisting
 01. Beast In Peace (The Hundred In The Hands Beast In Beat Remix)
02. Lovesick Teenagers (Twin Shadow Remix)
03. Ultimate Satisfaction (The Field Remix)
04. Wholehearted Mess (Pink Skull Remix)
05. Fake Out (BRAHMS Remix)
06. Drug A Wheel (High Places Remix)
07. Deafening Love (Deru Remix)
08. Dust Cloud (Justin K. Broadrick Remix)
09. You Do You (Studio Remix)
10. Casual Goodbye (Epstein’s Galloping Gertie Remix)
