Minus The Bear - Planet of Ice Album Review

Minus the Bear
Planet of Ice
Album Review

Minus The Bear have always sounded like Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland got fed up with their mediocre bass player and set out to make genuinely intelligent rhythmic rock. On this, their third album, the better-Police sound is intact, but enhanced with some experimental fluid rock guitar and keyboards - almost prog in its landscape (tones of Yes or King Crimson).

What Planet of Ice also has is an amazing ability to hold the tension of each song until its fantastically controlled release - most of the songs build to an indie rock climax. The guitars are properly guitar-god great, all technically perfect but with proper (if perhaps slightly mathematically geeky) emotional soul. The control is managed well - it could have overwhelmed the music, but the band retain some of their earlier humour (when song titles were as off the wall as "Houston We Have Uh-Oh...", "Monkey!!! Knife!!! Fight!!!" and "Lemurs, Man, Lemurs". Anyone with an open mind who liked the Police albums (as opposed to only the singles) will find a lot to love in here.

3.5/5

Mike Rea