I was hooked on Bear Hands after the first listen to their EP, Golden. I was pretty excited to see the Brooklyn band live at the dirty little Drunken Unicorn. I was not however excited when I caught a glimpse of the opening band, ouch, my poor ears. It was weird that a heavy metal-ish band was sharing the same stage as Bear Hands but perhaps they were a local band, I don’t know. The crowd was rather dismal, so Bear Hands’ set didn’t have that vibe I would expect it would have if they played to a sold out crowd at Mercury Lounge in NYC. Rau’s voice sounded good…I am a fan of the imperfections that come along with an unpolished vocal tone. The band played well together and I often found myself watching the drummer and the bass player, who also lent a hand on percussions.
Their set-list was rather short on account of them having one album and it was pretty relaxed and casual. I liked Bear Hands and believe that they will continue to get better as they age like fine wine.
Video: “Sickly Brunette” from Bear Hands
