Lucinda Black Bear

Lucinda Black Bear is led by Christian Gibbs, a veteran local singer who really knows his way around a dark, country-inflected pop melody. Gibbs has had brushes with fame before...but LBB’s striking, melancholy work represents his best material. Tonight the band hits Tribeca with a hot new album in its pocket: the lush Knives. - Time Out NY

On November 2nd, Brooklyn's Lucinda Black Bear will release their album Knives, which - if the title track is any indication - will feature a set of loose, rousing folk-rock that will affect you starting with a jamboree-style foot tap and working its way up. Definitely keep your ear open for more from them. - QRO Magazine

It’s been awhile since our last folk post, so here’s Lucinda Black Bear. Their latest song “Percival” is far from an amateur attempt at a well structured folk song, complete with strings and well placed harmonizing. Look for their next LP in November, and if you crave more of their tuneage, you can preview some tracks off their first album Capo My Heart And Other Bear Songs streaming on their website. - New Dust

NPR-All Songs Considered
November 14, 2007 - Brooklyn's Lucinda Black Bear is a new project led by Christian Gibbs. They play carefully written folk rock with stunning sonic arrangements. Lucinda Blackbear's debut CD, Capo My Heart and Other Bear Songs, is a melancholy collection of songs that are expressive and moving. With Mike Cohen on bass, Kristin Mueller on drums, Chad Hammer ..o, and Clare Burson on violin, they paint lonely, deserted images with dark minor chords and complex melodies. The strings and acoustic instruments blend well with distorted electric guitar and subtle feedback. On the title track, slow guitar and piano play along with Gibbs' dreamy vocals: "if I could build a tree up to the stars / I'd lay there forever". The last track, "Hibernation Song (Blue it Got You)", is an instrumental piece that features dissonant, droning strings. Christian Gibbs has also played in a number of other notable bands including Foetus, the Morning Glories, and the '80s pop group Modern English. - NPR

Se llaman Lucinda Black Bear, son de Brooklyn y aparecieron en 2007 con su memorable disco Capo my Heart and the other Bear Songs, que tuvo una excelente acogida crítica. Por ahora terminan los últimos preparativos de su nuevo álbum, que lanzarán a fin de año, mientras comienzan a darse a conocer al mundo con su música llena de guiños a Radiohead, Elliott Smith y The Beatles.

A veces pasa: de pronto el amigo de un amigo de un amigo descubre una banda y la escucha en silencio, en un comienzo, para luego ir dándose cuenta de que no tiene sentido guardarse el secreto y que es mejor difundirlo. Y de pronto alguien, en Facebook o en cualquier otra red social, pone un link de la banda y listo, la historia cambia de rumbo.

El protagonista de esta historia se llama Lucinda Black Bear y es una de esas bandas que cada cierto tiempo salen de Brooklyn a conquistar el mundo. El comienzo de todo se remonta a fines de 2007, cuando la banda, liderada por Christian Gibbs, lanza su primer álbum: Capo my Heart and the other Bear Songs y la crítica especializada les da un espaldarazo en revistas como Rolling Stone, Billboard, Harp, Spin, entre otras.

“Yo sabía que habíamos hecho un buen álbum, pero me alegró saber que otros entendieron la complejidad musical del disco”, cuenta a Km Cero Chad Hammer, cellista de la banda. Y Gibbs agrega: “Este era un álbum muy personal, donde se logró representar lo que queríamos transmitir emocionalmente, así que feliz de que otra gente lo haya sentido de esa manera. Sobre todo pensando que era un proyecto completamente nuevo”.

De ahí en adelante, Lucinda Black Bear se ha dedicado a demostrar en vivo la fuerza de su primer disco, mientras han ido preparando nuevas canciones que conformarán su nuevo álbum, aún sin nombre, que se lanzará a fines de este 2010.
Pero volvamos al comienzo, cuando el nombre de la banda era simplemente un link en el Facebook de alguien: ingresar al MySpace y comenzar a escuchar “Kites”, la canción que abre, donde la voz de Gibbs suena muy parecida a la de Chris Martin, y a ratos también a la de Thom Yorke (sobre todo en los altos), para luego dar paso a un punteo que abre “Fought the Bear” y la voz de Gibbs comienza a volverse más personal y Lucinda Black Bear empieza a lucir como una banda de tonos melancólicos y oscuros, que al final del tema agarra una fuerza similar a la de Radiohead en esas canciones donde todo comienza tranquilo para luego explotar. Luego viene “All she wanted”, que abre con un punteo similar a los temas de Elliott Smith, lo que remite, inevitablemente, a los Beatles y con esto se va formando el universo musical por donde transitará Lucinda Black Bear a lo largo del disco. Entre lo indie-folk y cierto experimentalismo, pasando por ciertos momentos de rock y pop que le dan una variedad importante al disco.

Habría que agregar a Beck, Chet Baker, The Arcade Fire y Jets to Brazil entre otras bandas que, según los integrantes de Lucinda Black Bear, han influenciado en el trabajo de composición. Y esa mezcla de influencias se nota, como si fuera un disco donde se pagan las deudas musicales de los integrantes, lo que podría parecer malo, pero que en el fondo es un gesto de honestidad musical que se agradece en estos tiempos, cuando muchos se quieren pasar de listo y nos hacen creer que están inventando cosas.

Lo que hace Lucinda Black Bear es no darle la espalda a la música que les gusta, sino que la toman y comienzan a crear desde ella, jugando con melodías y tonos que, finalmente, logran transmitir una sensación de melancolía que se refleja en plenitud en “Capo my heart”, mientras Gibbs canta pausadamente y suena un piano que acompaña su voz. Una voz cansada, que se vuelve una de las mayores cualidades de la banda, sobre todo por su versatilidad.

Fueron algunas de estas cualidades lo que llevaron a que ese 2007 aparecieran en la lista de la National Public Radio como uno de los diez grupos desconocidos más importantes de ese año. “Fue un momento de mucho orgullo”, dice Hammer.

Aunque si hay un momento que todos los integrantes de la banda definen como uno de los más importantes, es cuando la historia de Lucinda Black Bear comienza: “Lo más importante fue cuando entramos, por primera vez, a ensayar todos juntos, en una pieza. Yo sabía que era algo especial y que nos alentaría para seguir adelante”, explica Gibbs.

Y no resulta simplemente un detalle de compañerismo, sino que habla de una banda que más que buscar reconocimientos o ventas, lo que les interesa es profundizar en sus búsquedas musicales. De hecho, como explica Mike Cohen, el bajista, “el disco nuevo será bien diferente al primero”, a lo que Gibbs agrega que habrán sorpresas en el nuevo disco, pero que no quieren adelantar nada aún.

Mientras, sólo queda esperar en lanzamiento del álbum a fin de año y seguir escuchando Capo my Heart and the other Bear Songs, y dejarse sorprender con estos temas tristes y oscuros provenientes del lejano Brooklyn. - KM Cero (in Spanish)

Indie folk rockers, Lucinda Black Bear, are back with two new tracks “Percival” and “Knives” that are perfect for the Fall as their tightly orchestrated songs evoke melancholy adventures in heavily wooded forests with furry animals.

To be more concrete, I would say that their sound combines the grandiose soundscapes of Sufjan Stevens with vocals akin to Andrew Bird and the foot stomping anthems of Arcade Fire. Each of their songs feature complex dark melodies with elaborate exchanges between cellos, violins, and guitar with thoughtful vocals sitting airily atop.

Unlike the free and loose playing of say an Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, you get the feeling that each of Lucinda Black Bear’s songs have been carefully composed and refined after many grueling sessions to ensure that no note, rest, or word is out of place.

Enjoy the new tracks, which can be downloaded for free from the band's website and be sure to keep an eye out for the new album which drops November 2nd. - Aesthetes Anonymous

Performing Songwriter, March /April 2008 Capo My Heart provides a prime example of [Christian] Gibbs' angular melodies, muted emotions and a heavy emphasis on varying tones and textures. While the lush, ethereal beauty of "Fought the Bear," "Winterland" and "You Got It Blue" takes several listens to fully absorb, peeling away the shimmering layers makes those repeated encounters all the more intriguing. - Performing Songwriter

Village Voice Headlining the evening was Lucinda Black Bear, a rock-noir outfit headed by C.Gibbs (a/k/a Christian Gibbs). Gibbs is neither awkward, nor young; in fact, he’s extremely confident in commanding this five piece he’s recently assembled, who're bolstered by a cello and a violin. Gibbs has been around the game awhile; he flirted with a major label release in 1999, and has subsequently released two records this decade. He’s received accolades over the years from high end places such as the New York Times and NPR, but seemingly has failed to catch on with those most likely be his fans—those who appreciate Okkervil River or Magnolia Electric Company / Songs: Ohia. Unlike Marling, Lucinda Black Bear sing songs about fighting bears. Well, just one song, really, involves a throwdown: “Fought The Bear” is a large sounding rocker, a full-on assault of Gibbs crowing and crescendo’ing about a quick brush with death, something that fits his band's morose vibe. He passionately convinces us that this bear fight (with his bare hands) really happened, something that as we get older, we don’t even consider possible. There was a time, decades ago, that fighting bears seemed like a real possibility as did playing professional sports. Another one of the staples in Lucinda Black Bear’s catalog is “Kites,” a slow, twangy ballad that highlights Gibb’s abstract storytelling. It’s not a carefree kite flying song (although flying kites, is in fact, referenced) but instead comes off a bit bitter, a bit jaded, and dejected, as Gibbs describes coming to terms with losing a friend. Gibbs himself puts this into his performances, a downsized version of himself that the jaded and the heartbroken can appreciate—those with imagination, yet who were never rewarded for that quality. Lucinda Black Bear might be just getting off the ground, and Gibbs has assembled a talented backing band. But his song arrangements (like on the album) would even lend themselves to a larger ensemble, maybe a piano here and there, and a banjo or mandolin would even sound appropriate—but for Union Hall’s tiny stage, a five piece was enough for the moment. written by Michael D. Ayers - Village Voice

Harp Magazine Another vector for the haunted folk rock tunes of Christian—or C.—Gibbs, LBB (which features singer-songwriter HARP fave Clare Burson on violin) takes a different instrumental tack, crafting spectral, more atmospheric contexts to go with Gibbs’ descriptive epistles on the self-released Eastern Spurs. - Harp Magazine

Time Out---
Lucinda Black Bear is a new quintet led by Christian Gibbs, a veteran local singer who really knows his way around a dark pop melody. Gibbs has had brushes with fame before but the striking, melancholy tunes LBB delivers could push him over the top. Tonight’s show benefits Life for the World, an addiction-help center. - Timeout NY

The L Magazine Lucinda Black Bear's frontman, Christian Gibbs, does that Thom Yorke-thing with his voice where he sounds like a ghost. Back that up with some cello and violin, and you've got yourself a slow, spooky treat. $6. - The L Magazine