If you thought you had found all the buried treasure in Nashville’s local music scene, you thought wrong—unless you’ve been lucky enough to stumble across The Little Bear—Infinity Cat’s atypically non-punk trio. They are quite the hidden gem—never seeming to play with any of the Infinity Cat staples, i.e. JEFF the Brotherhood, PUJOL, Heavy Cream, etc.—(probably because they aren’t a punk band). Instead, they play pop/rock with a hint of folk, lead by singer/songwriter Claire Guerrero, who is joined by Mandy Rogers on keyboards/vocals, and Justin Baker, on electric guitar/vocals. A good comparison would be local folk band, Korean is Asian, but more upbeat and less folksy.
The Little Bear tends to entrance you with tight harmonies, and clever, polyphonic little ditties to build a more rhythmic layer of sound above the ambience of the keyboard/synth and electric guitar. (The song, “Parachute,” is a good example of this). The background vocal bedazzlements are a central theme in their material, helping to create both of The Little Bear’s dominant styles, which are either abundantly pretty folk/pop, or more theatrical, pop/rock. Listening to “Slow and Steady,” is like listening to Queen’s “Killer Queen,” with the bouncy, almost big-band approach, while “Coldest Cloud” almost grinds along to the point of being an old PJ Harvey tune. This variation in material is admirable, and while Claire will tell you that her biggest influences are Portishead, Fiona Apple, Bjork, and Stevie Wonder, her songs are also reminiscent of Jewel, Tori Amos, or even Michelle Branch (before she got pregnant and joined The Wreckers).
Assuming that none of the members of The Little Bear get pregnant, they should have some pretty exciting things going on in the near future. They recently recorded an album with Infinity Cat founder/legendary songwriter, Robert Orrall, and sound engineer, Jacquire King, whose previous collaborations include Kings of Leon, Norah Jones, and Tom Waits. You can also look forward to hearing SEXTTAPE, which is an upcoming split tape they’re doing with PUJOL on Infinity Cat Records. The Little Bear seems to be riding on a fast train that’s headed to the land of fame and fortune, so you should get on that train too, and take it to their next show, which will be at the 5 Spot on September 24th.—Erin Manning
