Shawn Brackbill
When Bear in Heaven decided to stream their latest album, they didn't want to just stream it like all other bands. They wanted to drag it out -- literally. Slowing down the pace of songs by approximately 400,000 percent.
I Love You, It's Cool, the band's follow-up to 2009's
Beast Rest Fourth Mouth was available online, its entirety, stretched over for 2,700 hours, leading up to its release date on April 3.
"We wanted to make an ambient record but we didn't have time," singer Jon Philpot tells Spinner. "It sort of turned into a bigger thing than we thought it would."
The blogosphere ate the concept right up; fascinated with the unrecognizable drone that would play whenever you visited the band's official website. Philpot, who almost jokingly decided on the notion ("This was just some dumb idea that we committed to"), was pleasantly surprised by the interest.
"It's a crazy thing to do, I guess... crazy-ish," says Philpot. "If we were to talk about people releasing their records and having an idea to hype up the record then I guess this is probably one of the more inventive ones this year."
If Philpot and fellow band members guitarist Adam Wills and drummer Joe Stickney didn't see the onslaught of attention coming, they most certainly didn't predict being in the news next to a pop superstar. Months prior to I Love You, It's Cool streaming online, a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber was posted online 800 percent slower, prompting the interest of millions of music fans. Naturally, when writing up the news about Bear in Heaven's idea, some journalists lumped the two together.
"We were in the Washington Post and other big publications and there would be a picture of us next to Justin Bieber," says Philpot with a laugh. "He's like an honorary member of the band, kind of!"
Although the slow ambience of the slowed down record appealed to Philpot and the band -- Philpot admits that the mellow drones were perfect for him to relax to at home while cooking dinner -- he can't imagine the band ever slowing things down that much in real life. Particularly onstage.
"It's kind of fun seeing people move at shows," says Philpot. "I guess people can sway. Our last record wasn't necessarily fast, though there was a hip-hop influence to it whereas this stuff on our new record is more like disco tempos."
Clearly the success of promoting this album has surprised the band and garnered them plenty of attention. Bear in Heaven definitely don't plan on repeating themselves for the next record, though.
"This was the thing for this record and it was good to do," explains Philpot. "I think, for the next record, we'll just one day say, 'We're releasing the record,' and the next day it's out.
"Kind of like a Radiohead thing."
Watch Bear in Heaven's "Sinful Nature" Video
