Album Review: The Bunny The Bear

The Bunny and The Bear have been roping in a fan base since their formation in 2008, an indication that maybe the scene isn’t dead, with their resemblance to past acts who also tried their luck with a mixture of hardcore and electronic/pop sounds. It takes us back to the days of Brokencyde and Dot Dot Curve. We have to ask ourselves though, is this a good thing?

The Bunny, as one of the members, Matthew Tybor calls himself, has previously stated “To put it simply, we are weird. If I had to describe it….heavy, electronic and experimental. I write whatever the F&*$ I want. There’s a bit of everything.” Well weird is certainly right, and while there might be a bit of everything, one has to consider whether “a bit of everything” has the possibility to come together to make a harmonious, well structured song and album?

The first song off the album, ‘Eating Disorders’ is a pretty good indication of what’s to come, overbearing pop/electronic tones in an attempt to mix them with some kind of hardcore. The combination of clean vocals and screams seem to be thrown into a mixture of electronic music and weak guitars that don’t particularly fit together. The use of the high pitched, pop sounding clean vocals and the low, growling vocals also don’t mix.

The song ‘In Like Flynn’ begins with what sounds like a Fall Out Boy dance remix as the vocals sound close to that of Patrick Stump. However with the use of the heavier screams in the song it again lacks the cohesiveness of a well structured track.

‘Its Not Always Cold in Buffalo’ and ‘Sadie’ may be the two songs on the album that show the potential of The Bunny and The Bear. The vocals and tune are harmonious and even pleasant to listen to, with potential for these clean vocals to make something of substance, but mixed in with another nine songs that lack this harmony and structure, it falls somewhat short.

The clean vocals on 'Stories' show the potential for some kind of successful music, but mixed with these harsh growls and incohesive attempts at both electronic and, dare we say, metal, the album lacks structure and substance. Honestly, this 'experimental hardcore' should have stayed a garage experiment.

1. Eating Disorder

2. In Like Flynn

3. Hey, Allie

4. It's Not Always Cold In Buffalo

5. Another Day

6. The Frog

7. Melody

8. Imagine

9. Your Reasons

10. What We're Here For

11. Sadie