Bear Hands

Bear Hands

They’ve been compared to the likes of Hold Steady, LCD Soundsystem and The Strokes now Hockey, four ‘scruffy bike-riding vegans’ from Portland Oregon, are poised to set the UK on fire when they arrive to tour the country in February 2009 with Passion Pit and Bear Hands.

They have already received various accolades from the British Music press including NME and The Irish Times, and were voted ‘New Band of the Day’ by The Guardian, describing their sound as

‘Wordy yet funky, the gritty vocals and chunky beats equally clear and upfront in the mix. Hockey could easily be enjoyed by Dylan, Springsteen and Hold Steady fans as much as they could by devotees of LCD Soundsystem and their ilk. I

n fact, if James Murphy ever decides to produce the Strokes then this is roughly how it might turn out……. Witty, literate songs you can dance to – they don't quite give Dylanesque narratives a dubstep undercarriage, but they do effect a collision of opposites that is quite unprecedented.”

Boston's Passion Pit, playing as a five piece live, on all shows except London, is the brainchild of Michael Angelakos. A songwriter's songwriter drawing influences from Randy Newman and other LA based musicians.

Passion Pit have already blown away audiences opening up for Death Cab For Cutie, Girl Talk, These New Puritans and more. Also winning the WFNX/Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll as the Best New Local Act of 2008, Passion Pit create perfect pop tunes that people can dance to and have fun with.

Angelakos' Chunk of Change ep was originally put together as a Valentine's Day present to his girlfriend which then prompted him to give to friends and fellow students at Emerson College. Angelakos wrote and recorded the whole thing by himself and it only hints at what is to come from this extremely talented perfectionist.

Its six jewelled tunes that catch the waves of joy shimmering up there on the future horizon. Songs like "I've Got Your Number" and "Live to Tell The Tale" explore the dichotomy of making pretty euphoric music while talking about things that make you sad.

Also performing on this incredible line up will be Bear Hands. Press has been off the hook in the US and the UK for their debut four song ep “Golden” which was produced by Andrew Schneider (Cave In, Pelican) and for their live shows, Bear Hands have been fortunate enough to share the stage with bands such as MGMT, Vampire Weekend, Ra Ra Riot, Ambulance Ltd, Cursive, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Le Savy Fav.

Hailing from Connecticut via New York- where they now call home. Bear Hands formed in 2006 after meeting in a small NYC practice room to initially flesh out some demos Dylan Rau (vocals/guitar) had been working on but each instantly saw the potential for something special to form. From that point, Bear Hands got together forming a stomping indie rock dance party with contemplative lyrics, hypnotic drumming and guitar lines that get right under your skin.

HOCKEY, BEAR HANDS and PASSION PIT (all shows except London)

Tue 17-Feb-09 BRIGHTON AUDIO

Thu 19-Feb-09 OXFORD BULLINGDON ARMS

Fri 20-Feb-09 BRISTOL THE COOLER

Mon 23-Feb-09 LONDON CARGO

Tue 24-Feb-09 BIRMINGHAM 02 ACADEMY 3

Wed 25-Feb-09 MANCHESTER THE RUBY LOUNGE

Thu 26-Feb-09 GLASGOW THE CAPTAINS REST

Fri 27-Feb-09 LEEDS THE BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB