Bear Hands and their label, Cantora, remain synonymous with a certain time in the Brooklyn indie scene — before MGMT went down the rabbit hole, and when groups emerging from Wesleyan University dominated the scene. Das Racist was still intact, and the world hadn’t yet heard of LE1F.
Today, the picture looks a bit different, but Bear Hands keeps going with its own brand of fast-paced rock/pop. The band’s new album Distraction dropped last week, and like their previous one, each song is buoyed by the sturdy lead guitar of Ted Feldman and the consistent songwriting of vocalist Dylan Rau.
They’ll support the album with two shows this week at Music Hall of Williamsburg. The first is tomorrow alongside Miniature Tigers, Total Slacker and Jack & Eliza. The second, Thursday, is also alongside Miniature Tigers. The band will then tour throughout March until they stop in Indio, California for Coachella.
For this Play Room session, we visited Bear Hands at their practice space in Williamsburg. The band played “Peacekeeper” (formerly known as “Pew Pew”) off of Distraction. Enjoy!