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Volcano The Bear

If there ever was a band that fully understood and kept the spirit of early Residents (they even share similar imagery) and Faust alive, it's Volcano The Bear. Without emulating these two legendary underground rock outfits, the Volcano clan manage to ooze with the same soft, gooey weirdness that made them so special in the first place. Just like the aforementioned bands, Volcano The Bear's sound is extremely difficult to define; it's obviously got roots in jazz, folk, rock and uh... hmm... is kitchen electronica a genre? Some might argue their music is weird for the sake of weird, but it's done with such energy and passion that it comes off very convincing (and invigorating - it's difficult not to be pulled into "Voland" and not be charmed; they put a smile on my face every time I put an album on). There is also a dark sense of humor in their work: the bizarre titles, the cryptic track listings, the cover art, the choice of sounds, rhythm. Their sound is unmistakable yet they manage to surprise you with each new track (and each new version of a song - the group regularly play different version of a song on different records). Just the name of the band is a quirky insight into their self-sufficient bubble universe; you might get hints and questions will arise, but you'll never get answers

I don't remember exactly where I first heard of Volcano The Bear. The name started to show up quite often on the mailing list messages I received from different online record stores; Steve Stapleton (aka Nurse With Wound) was a huge fan already and is partly responsible for the group getting more exposure. I spotted the name immediately (how can you not notice it!) but didn't purchase anything by them, it just wasn't a priority for me at the time. It was only a few months later, when I had a bit of extra cash after paying the bills that I decided to place a bid on the first homemade version of their album Volseptor which was up on eBay at the time. I didn't place a very high bid, I would either get it and start collecting or not and wait a while again. I got the record for under twenty bucks, loved it and the rest is history. Only problem is that I've managed to get the rarer version of their early albums, so I am now bent on finding the rest instead of getting the similarly rare Beta-Lactam Ring Records versions.

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