The first comparison I can make to the avant-garde ensemble Volcano The Bear would be to Henry Cow. This is not surprising since the current state of the art owes a big deal to Frank Zappa, of course but also to the less revered British maniacs known as Henry Cow. Having said that, Volcano The Bear, hailing from all parts of the United Kingdom, goes their own unique way in presenting the bizarre and non-commercial. Originally formed in 1996, the group has released an impressive series of albums with a few of them now freely and legally available from The Free Music Archive.

The most known album is Classic Erasmus Fusion. Released in 2006, it gained quite a few critical raves from the critics. The first thing one notices on the title track is that they used a number of odd instruments to make their statements. If you are looking for a group with the usual guitar, bass, drum setup, look elsewhere. However the strange guitar and vocal on “Did You ever feel like Jesus” is eerie but a little more down to earth. Most of the “avant-rock” tracks on this fascinating album is way more avant than rock. Yet Volcano The Bear rarely bores the listener. This is one of those groups of artists that give you a what-are-they-going-to-do-next feeling. That is one of my favorite feeling in the music experience. Also worth the bewildered feeling is “Russian Milk” and “The Last Song of Norway”, a oddly beautiful ending to a fine album.

Paris 2nd December 2007 is a live recording. Divided in two tracks, it exhibits the band’s odd ways on stage. While it is easy to call Volcano the Bear a improvisatory band, this live concert clearly shows that it is actually a highly structured affair that could be called performance art. It is an excellent album but I suspect there are visual aspect that are lost in the audio documentation of a live performance.

The Idea of Wood starts like some kind of tribal processional. The sound is quite shamanistic at times. “Curly Robot begins somewhat impressionistic then goes of into a Joan La Barbara / Meredith Monk sort of thing. The five track album is surprisingly calm and meditative considering all the experimentation that is going on.

The Volfurten EP is only three songs and 15 minutes long but it might be a good introduction to the band. The first track is droneful yet little swirling dervish surprises await throughout the track. In the same style are the other two tracks, “Chariots of Fur” and “The Woman Who Waited For The Woman Who Weighs The Fur”. Don’t try to figure out the titles, just enjoy.

All these album are available for the Free Music Archive in 160kbps MP3. There are a few briefer albums also available. If you enjoy the music, support the artists by buying their CDs.

Download
Classic Erasmus Fusion
Paris 2nd December 2007
The Idea of Wood
Volfurten