Acrpost: A Project of the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres

Event Description

You may have them pegged as the high-end of lo-fi, but with their sophomore album Distraction, Bear Hands have shrugged off the notion of second album jitters to create an expansive sound that grew over three long years and thousands of miles on the road.

Self-produced and mixed by James Brown (NIN, Arctic Monkeys, Foo Fighters), Distraction is a violently self-assured record which sees the quartet of Dylan Rau, TJ Orscher, Val Loper and Ted Feldman distilling their anxieties and pleasures alike into perfectly twisted pop nuggets.

After releasing their debut LP Burning Bush Supper Club, Bear Hands criss-crossed America opening for the legendary GZA, Passion Pit, and AWOLNATION only to return home to Brooklyn and be distracted by the minutia of modern life and shallow urbanity. While avoiding each other for months, the band frittered away its time with help from the internet, serial monogamy, and recreational drugs.

Fortunately, this distance allowed the band to approach Distraction with a revolutionary new perspective. Their minds expanding and hearts imploding, Bear Hands set about matching new songs to familiar soundscapes. From the propulsive, infectious rhythms of "Giants" and the angular, warped melodies of "Bone Digger" to the widescreen sweep of "Thought Wrong," Distraction demands your attention - calling out for love from behind a mask of ones and zeroes, cardboard and vinyl.