If Blur had put down their guitars, acquired some synthesizers, stumbled upon a pitch-modification tool, and tried their hands at house music, it might have sounded a little like The 2 Bears.
To my mind, The 2 Bears, otherwise known as Joe Goddard and Ref Rundell, might just be the next big thing in the world of what has come to be known as (fairly or otherwise) indie electronica. If you haven’t heard ‘Bear Hug’ yet on a night out, undeniably a dance anthem as ridiculous as it is brilliant, then you surely will soon.
Anything Joe Goddard (of Hot Chip fame) turns his mind to comes out as an eclectic mix, to say the least: be it the chilled, summer’s day vibes of ‘The Birds and the Bees’, the atmospheric house of ‘Take A Look Around’, or the funky, country feel of ‘Time in Mind.’ Be Strong, their first full length EP, is no exception. If anything can be said of The 2 Bears, it is that they’ll work with any sound that tickles their fancy, as long as it gets people moving. That said, Goddard and Rundell are undoubtedly on their best form when they lay down an uncompromising, unashamedly pop-laced house track. ‘Be Strong’, a winning floor-stopper, sets a high standard right from the off, and marks the beginning of a record that, albeit with a few drastic diversions, becomes an increasingly subtle and sophisticated take on house music throughout.
While ‘Bear Hug’ is a track likely to find itself knocking shoulders with Hit 40 UK, the likes of ‘Take A Look Around’, ‘Faith’ and ‘Church’ seem more suited to the underground house sounds of Maceo Plex, Maya Jane Coles and Deniz Kurtel (with an obviously more pop oriented slant). This, for me, is why Be Strong is such a successful album. Joe Goddard and Raf Rundell have an honest, all-embracing approach to dance music that allows them to at once produce catchy, eclectic floor-filling anthems and the sincere, intelligent house music that characterises the album as a whole.
3.5 STARS
