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Said The Gramophone on "Cage of Ribs": Da Bears take one riff, one hook, and use it to tremendous effect: first it's guitars-bass-drums, then it's backwards-singing, later it's piano and finally rattle-tat horns. It's not quite Broken Social Scene but it's something simple and juicy and a great deal of fun; it's an ice-breaker; it's a get-up-and-sing. Sometimes the alarm clock goes off and you leap clear out of bed, swizzle-twisting in the air, like a corkscrew of streamer that lands in socked feet on the floor. Sometimes you do it with headphones on, just walking down the street, listening to some San Diego indie rock band. Cat Dirt Sez album review: It’s easy to discern an artistic vision already: fuzzy/gauzy California style indie rock. There is some talent in here, particuarly if this group is as young as I think. The sound is right up the alley of "indie blogger nation": the arrangement/vox hits all the high points of bands like Pavement, Broken Social Scene and Flaming Lips. There is enough variety within the songs to make listening to this cd substantially less exhausting then I anticipated. I would also advise keeping an eye on front man/songwriter(?) Ryan Solomon in the future- I wouldn't be suprised if he develops into an indie blogger nation fav. Exclaim! album review: ...The one to focus on is The World Famous Da Bears, which the band just reissued on Grizzly Records. A pretty solid album from start to finish, this harmonious little indie rock act have a ramshackle collective bargain that rallies like those climaxes we all love in Broken Social Scene’s messy universe. "Cage of Ribs" does a nice job of demonstrating this, building the song with rambunctious jams interspersed throughout some pensive piano and backwards vocals. A personal favourite though is "Standards of a Rock Album". The lyrics are clever, the vocals reach the perfect pitch of whiny, the piano almost brings me to tears, and then that gnarly guitar solo kicks in and out, which just might be the best solo I’ve heard all year. Da Bears!

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