It’s quite something to think that 15 years ago, it all started for Minus the Bear with the release of their debut album, Highly Refined Pirates. Misunderstood by some critics at the time, the album has gone on to achieve cult status and remains one of the most beloved parts of the band’s musical canon. When asked to reflect on it, vocalist and guitarist Jake Snider recalls a period of his life that feels as though it was forever ago.
“It’s a very different band these days,” he says. “You can start just by looking at the people – five of us played on that record, and only three of us are still in the band now. It was an interesting recording process. We recorded to two-inch tape, a guy named Steve Fisk was recording and producing us. He’s a pretty old-school guy when it comes to that sort of stuff. It was all very different to the ProTools era that we find ourselves in now. Steve could make a record with not much more than some tape and a console. At that point, it felt like we were really just getting started – we were focused on these recordings and playing shows a lot. It all felt like a really big deal – nowadays, it’s just what we do.”
Fast forward to 2017, and Minus the Bear are back in the spotlight once again with the release of their sixth album, VOIDS. An album more indebted to the world of post-punk and indie rock than the noodley leanings of Pirates, the album sees the band exploring the farther reaches of their sonic structure with intriguing and catchy results. It’s also an album that saw the band switch up their usual approach to songwriting. “Usually, the lyrics and melody fall on me,” Snider says. “For this record, though, we actually had Alex [Rose, keyboardist] take a much bigger role. We co-wrote a lot for VOIDS, and on three songs he wrote the melodies, worked on the lyrics and sang. He’s done his own bands and solo projects, and he has a really cool way of seeing music. I thought it would be an awesome way for him to lead the band for a couple of songs, just to see what it would be like. I think he did a great job – he really brought a lot of depth.”
Things had been relatively quiet between the release of VOIDS and the band’s last album, 2012’s Infinity Overhead. The album was delayed in part due to the departure of drummer Erin Tate, as well as two members of the band becoming fathers. “I prefer not to be gone for too long on the road these days,” says Snider, who has two children. “It can be a difficult thing to balance in the music business, but we’re finding ways.”
When it came to writing VOIDS, the band made a conscious decision to keep the material mostly fresh, rather than dredging up older ideas. “Most of it was pretty new when we began recording,” Snider says. “We were different people to who we were when Infinity was done. There was a different mentality – everything shifted a little bit. We wanted to craft something unique, we wanted to branch out after years of doing things one specific way.”
Fans in Australia will finally get reacquainted with Minus the Bear this coming August, as the band prepare for a whirlwind visit – their first in a whopping seven-and-a-half years. “We were very lucky to come out for Soundwave when we did,” recalls Snider of their 2009 visit. “We got to see Alice in Chains every day. It was a pretty incredible experience. This will be a lot different, doing our own headlining shows, but we’re absolutely looking forward to it all the same. My only hope is that you all still remember us after all these years.”
