The Bear Quartet

The Bear Quartet is a Swedish rock group that sings in English .

history

Foundation phase

The Bear Quartet was founded in Luleå in 1989 . Since the debut album in 1992 a total of 12 albums have been released. The line-up changed frequently over the years, but the core always consisted of Mattias Alkberg, Jari Haapalainen and Peter Nouttaniemi, who also wrote the majority of the songs.

The band's music is characterized by its melodiousness and the intelligent, often subversive lyrics. The Bear Quartet are a constant favorite of the Swedish music press, but haven't made it to international fame since their debut Penny Century (1992).

In the first years of the band, their sound was still heavily influenced by the indie pop electric guitar sound of the 90s. Three guitarists created a lot of distortion live and in the studio. In the mid-90s, punk and very electronic elements also flowed into the sound. However, the band was never suspected of making synth pop. Her electronic steps were far too playful for that. The band claims that each album is a reaction to the previous one. This also explains the many changes that the band's sound went through since 1989, without ever shaking the melancholy, blissful mood.

The 1990s

In 1997 the record "Moby Dick" was released, which was very pop and was heavily influenced by country pop. Swedish music journalists have already described the big breakthrough, but the band did not want to get involved in the marketing strategies of the big record companies and TV stations. So you market and sell yourself to this day through your independent label A West Side Fabrication . The lyrics to the pop music were then, even more explicitly than before, left-wing political statements that, in the opinion of the band, would become implausible if they were sold out.

today

In 2002 “Ny våg” was released. An album that linked punk songs with feminist messages, and on which the band made room for instrumental improvisations lasting several minutes. "Angry Brigade" from the following year again caused praise in the music press. The album contains almost all radio-compatible pieces of all tempos and pitches. In 2005 the album "Saturday Night" was released, which ends with the song "Death To The Bear Quartet". However, it remains to be seen whether this is an actual farewell song. On their 2000 album “My War” they sang “You can't keep us down - the left side is the right side”, and true to this motto, fans hope for more.

In 2006, for example, the futuristic-apocalyptic “Eternity Now” appeared, which at times could be described as “Synth Metal Progrock Fusion”.

In 2009 their 15th studio album "89" was released, which was released to mark the 20th anniversary of the band.

Side projects and prospects

The band members are also involved in many other Swedish music projects. Singer / songwriter Mattias Alkberg even received a literary award for his prose, which largely tells of the disparity between spatial freedom and intellectual and social limitations in the sparsely populated north of Sweden .

The Bear Quartet are, not only in the eyes of John Peel (†), who tried in vain to open up the British market for the band, to the most interesting and exciting indie bands of today. Due to their relative lack of awareness, they can mostly only be seen on tour in Scandinavia.

Discography

Studio albums (The band's quirk: All album titles consist of two words, the first of which ends in -y.)

Penny Century (1992)
Cozy Den (1993)
Family Affair (1993)
Everybody Else (1995)
Holy Holy (1995)
Moby Dick (1997)
Personality Crisis (1998)
My War (2000)
Gay Icon (2001)
Ny våg (2002)
Early Years (2002) - double album with songs from 1989-1996 as well as the peel sessions
Angry Brigade (2003)
Saturday Night (2005)
Eternity Now (2006)
89 (2009)
Monty Python (2010)