[rating=3.50]
Somewhere between I, Robot by the Alan Parsons Project and Modest Mouse’s The Moon and Antarctica, Seattle’s Minus The Bear have established a kind of hybrid strain of progressive indie rock that fans of both SST and "YYZ" can agree upon. The band’s fifth album Infinity Overhead and second for the Dangerbird label continues to find the group honing their characteristic flavor, tweaking it with different textures but never straying from the genesis of their distinct sound, no pun intended.
Working once again with original keyboardist and longtime producer Matt Bayles after recording 2010’s Omni with industry veteran Joe Chiccarelli, Minus has never sounded more self-assured and focused as they do on tracks like "Diamond Lightning" and "Cold Company", while the likes of "Lonely Gun" and "Heaven is a Ghost Town" see the incorporation of electronic music bleed into the texture of their style with promising results. Meanwhile, longtime Minus minions who might have felt a little rejoice in the incorporation of their earlier "classic" sound on tracks such as "Toska" and "Steel and Blood", albeit with a keener taste for the jammier side of things. A full decade after the release of their debut album Highly Refined Pirates, Minus the Bear continue to prove their transcendence of hipster cool with yet another impressive collection of expert musicianship and great songwriting.
