Bear In Heaven

Nervous pop is a balancing act. On one hand, keeping things tense can keep things interesting. On the other hand, pop music is called “pop music” for a reason, and not because it’s inaccessible, wildly experimental, and filled with sharp edges. Bear In Heaven strikes the balance better than most. The Brooklyn, New York band’s sound is big and dense, awash in reverb and filled with pulsing electronic menace—it certainly owes a debt to the angular pop of the ’80s, the sort proffered by acts like Simple Minds. “Lovesick Teenagers,” a particularly massive and moving song off of the band’s fine second album, 2009’s Beast Rest Forth Mouth, is an heir apparent to “Don’t You (Forget About Me).” The band’s follow-up, I Love You, It’s Cool, came out April 3.

Updated 04/03/2012