Exit : Pursued By A Bear

In case you hadn’t gathered from the looming heads peering down at you from your neighborhood lamp posts, it’s election time in Ireland. Leave it to five citizens of the People’s Republic to soundtrack the whole shebang with the moodiest synth-pop known to man. Leeside fivesome Exit: Pursued By A Bear come with a sense of foreboding as standard, and their self-titled debut is brimming with acrimony.
‘Erstwhile’ is the black sheep of the record – a howling, bombastic ode to an Ireland struggling to keep its head above water. A borderline spoken-word piece, the eerie tune is supported by the sorrowful, hushed refrain of ‘Are we losing our way/Have we lost our way?’ On paper, it’s brilliant, but as the only directly political tune on the album, it stands out a mile from the dancier material. We see a few flashes of a nation scorned in the irked yells of ‘Lending Ears’ and some retro moaning on ‘Lucid Me’, but it seems that uniformity isn’t a major concern for these bleep-happy rockers.
‘Hug’ feels more like a respectful nod than a warm embrace – its sinister, plodding melody doesn’t exactly suggest big bear cuddles. ‘Pish!’ on the other hand, is almost dreamy.
There’s 10 tracks on Exit: Pursued By A Bear, and each one has a fistful of ideas swimming through it. What’s more, four of the five musicians contribute synthesiser on the record, which only adds to the sonic clutter.
Still, there are a couple of solid ‘Blue Monday’-era New Order moments – ‘You Got Burned’ is a full-on techno floor-smasher, ‘Amédée’ is blessed with a genius zigzagging blip interlude and closing track ‘Squirm’ has a charming apocalyptic flow.
‘Charter Of Basic Principles’ is a promising example of how the quintet’s talents can be combined without being heavy on the ears. It’s a groovesome mash of hefty percussion, jolting guitars, ricochet-ing bleeps and a singable melody, and it really works. Exit: Pursued By A Bear is a confusing, hallucinogenic and ambitious record but at times, it can be a really lovely one.