DOWNLOAD: Dirt Bear - Bear It All

Now that the demos have been posted, here it is again (with my own updated artwork) - one of the best records produced by a West Virginia band - Bear It All. Here are some of Brian Pauley's notes on the recording process:

"Bear It All was recorded in 1996. It was recorded on an 8-track ADAT. Digital recordings on SVHS tapes. Sort of done the same way as the 4-tracks. Seven tracks of drums running through a mixing board and then bounced down to one track. However, only the drums were recorded first. Andy and Billy would play bass and guitar through a scratch track. Meaning they were playing along with me, I could hear them, but it wasn't being recorded. We'd bounce the drums down to 1 track and have 7 tracks to add everything else. I think this is when we started doubling up the guitar track to make it thicker. So basically you hear two guitar tracks playing the same thing. A trick Scott learned at the Recording Workshop and something he started making every band do. And since it was digital, if anyone screwed up the guitar, bass or vocals, the fixes could be punched in and you never notice."

Whatever the process, this record is heavy, crunchy, poppy, rowdy, but above all fun. And like some of the greatest indie-punk-rock bands of the mid-90s, the era of music is recognizable but the songs are still enjoyable 15 years later. I love this fucking record, and why I am posting it for the second time.

Artist: Dirt Bear
Album: Bear It All
Year: 1996
For fans of: The Jesus Lizard, Butthole Surfers, The Flaming Lips

DOWNLOAD: Dirt Bear - Bear It All