Bear Hands is an American post-punk and indie rock band from Brooklyn, NY that formed in 2006 and is still active to this day. They have been known for their debut EP “Golden” and toured with and opened for Twenty One Pilots in 2019 for their Bandito Tour.

The album I will be reviewing in this post is “Fake Tunes” by Bear Hands, which recently came out in 2019. I have never heard of this album or band before, but was given a recommendation by a friend, so I am sitting here writing about it while listening to the 11 songs on the album.

Blue Lips: This song is a great way to start off the album. It has a bit of a more electronic feel to it, and the addition of Ursula Rose’s voice singing the chorus only makes it even more interesting to listen to. The lyrics aren’t anything particularly special or poetic, however, and it can be a little tiring to hear “blue lips” a hundred times in the song. I do think it is still a good song overall, though. 6/10.

Mr. Radioactive: This is a very catchy and easy to listen to song. Arguably, it might be my favorite song on the album because of its unique and fresh sound. If I listened to it enough, I think I’d be able to sing along to it very easily. It kind of gives off the same vibes as Mr. Brightside by The Killers, but more chill. If this played at a club or party, I could definitely see myself dancing along to it. 9.5/10.

Friends in High Places: The beginning of this song caught my attention first. The instrumentals are very cool and kind of futuristic-sounding. It is a different sound and the lyrics are kind of interesting. The song talks about having various friends in high social and economic statuses and being in love with each of them and getting used to their bourgeois lifestyles. It’s a very fascinating song to listen to. 7.5/10.

Backseat Driver (Spirit Guide): This song has an ambience that sort of puts you as a listener in a trance. It has a spiritual feeling to it, as per the name, and tells the listener of a story of riding/driving a car through a magical forest before crashing and reflecting upon that crash. There is a bit of a surreal feel to the song in terms of the combination of both lyrics and music. 7/10.

Reptilians: Music in a song does not always tie to the words an artist is singing, but in this song, it definitely is. I don’t know how to say a song sounded scaly but this one did. At risk of sounding very odd, I will say that this song seemed to bring a person to life and make me feel like I was listening to them tell me about a failed relationship where they were too cold-hearted and are defending that they only love, not fight or destroy. 6.5/10.

Ignoring the Truth: This song is angry lyrically but still matches the overall chill and slow rock sound of the album. It talks about broken hearts and being too tired for love and the other person ignoring the truth of their relationship and feelings. I think every album needs a breakup song or angry song where the artist is frustrated about their emotions and just lets it all out into their music. 8/10.

Clean Up California: There is more of a remorseful and depressed feel to this song, where the artist sings about how being a junkie ruined his life beyond repair, but he is too dead inside and outside to really care and feel anything besides being high. It can be a little hard to listen to because this is a struggle that numerous people go through every day, but it is an important message. 7/10.

Exes: This is another song with a lot of repetition but it feels less noticeable than in Blue Lips and adds to the cool, vibey feeling of the song. The message of a couple trying to make their relationship work out despite the hardships and internal suffering comes through, and they grapple with whether they should keep trying to make it work or to just give up if it isn’t worth it. 7/10.

Pill Hill: While this song sounds good, it’s really only the same words over and over and over again and it feels like there’s less creativity here than in their other songs. I can’t really get into it as easily as I could with the rest of the album. 5/10.

Blame: The sound for this one is really cool, and the lyrics are a perfect fit for the artist’s voice. It’s a fun song to listen to and jam out to through your headphones, The “oohs” are a nice touch to it and even though it’s not the deepest song lyrically or emotionally, it still is a rather good song that they have created. 7/10.

Confessions: What an ending track this was. It has a very nihilistic point of view, reminding me a lot of Green Day’s American Idiot album about how the youth are struggling to find ways to fit into the world and wondering what even the point is in living. Not to mention, it’s just a very good song to listen to. 9/10.

Overall, I would recommend this album if you’re interested in looking for more indie music and soft rock music. I give it a solid 7/10.