SUNBEARS!

There's just no way a sound this big comes from two guys... but apparently it does. - Alternative Press

'Give Love A Try' is a sunny and psychedelic-pop tune from the emerging Jacksonville, FL duo. If you're experiencing an Indian Summer right now, this is the track for you. - Under The Radar

Sunbears!, an electro-pop duo from Jacksonville, Fla., creates a sound that incorporates the cosmological contemplations of The Flaming Lips, John Lennon's simple-yet-dynamic musings on the meaning of love, and the Plastic Ono Band's positively reinforced psychedelic rock. Formed by Jonathan Berlin and Jared Bower in 2008, Sunbears! has brought its highly visual performances and boundless energy to the same stage as Mates of State and Black Kids, as well as the Yo Gabba Gabba tour. - NPR Music

Not surprisingly, it is a thin week for new releases. Many record companies hold off on releasing albums during the week of Thanksgiving because it’s so much more difficult to get the attention of media and music consumers due to the holidays. That said, there are a few albums out this week that we highly recommend, including the new debut LPs from Sunbears and Sea Lions.

Since 2008, Jacksonville, Florida musicians Jonathan Berlin (vocals, bass, guitar, keys, synth) and Jared Bowser (drums, percussion) of Sunbears have been wooing and wowing audiences with their own brand of psychedelic indie rock. To date, the band has released a handful of EPs and singles, including a song for the hit kids’ TV show, Yo Gabba Gabba, followed by a short stint on their Super Music Friends Show tour in the fall of 2010. In addition, Sunbears have also toured with Mates of State, Black Kids and Dredg, among others.

Recorded at New York City’s Singing Serpent Studios with producer Jeremy S.H. Griffith, You Will Live Forever channels the ghost of The Dakota, conjuring equal parts Plastic Ono Band, Dark Side Of The Moon and Quadrophenia. On “Dying Alone, Without Yourself,” electronic creations are intricately layered upon a gorgeously strummed acoustic guitar, accompanied by haunting choral back-ups. “Give Love A Try” is the album’s infectious “feel good” first single, and in our opinion, one of the best indie songs of the second half of 2011.

The album is full of songs that explore all kinds of musical styles and themes, and at times you swear you were hearing different artists you already know being channeled through the incredibly talented duo. Sunbears is a band we will be watching in 2012. There are many fantastic songs this year that we’ve heard from relatively unknown artists and band. Sunbears now occupies two or three, maybe more, of those slots, thanks to what is also one of the best debut albums of 2011, You Will Live Forever. - Indie Rock Cafe

With the end of the world looming over us (according to the Mayan calendar anyway), you might be inclined to listen to bombastic, doomsday-worthy music to soundtrack the end of civilization as we know it. And when it turns out that it was all a hoax (again), pop on Sunbears! to celebrate the fact that we’re all still alive. Because the Jacksonville, Florida-based duo, Jonathan Grant Berlin (vocals, keys, bass, guitar, programming) and Jared Chase (drums), make sheer sonic joy in the form of luminous psychedelic pop music that aptly reflects their Sunshine State upbringing.

The duo first formed in 2008, releasing a small number of EP’s, a vinyl single, and even a song (“Imagination Adventure”) for the children’s television show Yo Gabba Gabba. Dream Happy Dreams, their 2009 EP, starts off with “Le Penné Pageant.” While the name brings to mind imagery of tubular pasta wearing glittery gowns and talking about world peace, the track itself is entirely instrumental, with playful keys, horns, and xylophone flourishes setting the tone for the rest of the EP. “I’m Alive!” is both the first thing you might say and the first song you might listen to when we survive the supposed apocalypse; it’s given a triumphant feel with big horn and keyboard build-ups.

Following up Sunbears!’s 2009 EP is You Will Live Forever, their 2011 debut full-length album. Opening track “You Will Live Forever” has a bit of a Radiohead feel, with nothing more than ethereal vocalizations and keys, and it transitions seamlessly to the upbeat “Give Love A Try.” Lyrically, it touches upon our own mortality, and why it’s important to make room for love (“the length of our lives ain’t much” and “give love a try,” sings Berlin).

Halfway through the album, “Dying Alone, Without Yourself” takes an entirely different direction. It steers away from the joyful, big sounds created earlier on, instead stripping the instrumentation down to an acoustic guitar and light electronic touches. The lyrics describe the chilling moments right before death (“he asks why?/Why?/Why?” and “his body unwinds itself/his nerves they detach themselves from his thoughts/his head is a prison cell for his thoughts”). Sunbears! might initially come off as an unrealistically happy-go-lucky band, but dig deeper and you’ll be rewarded with a truly dynamic range of sounds. - Band Of The Day App