Review: Bleachbear Makes Their Mark With ‘Cowboy Movie Star’
Bordering on surf rock with a smooth touch of dream pop, Seattle collective Bleachbear enchants with their newest release Cowboy Movie Star. Consisting of trio Tigerlily and Bird Cooley, and their cousin, Emiko Nakagawa Gantt, Bleachbear collaborates to create a unique yet pop-catchy surf/western vibe for this record. Full of unique background harmonies and darker surf chords, layered with dream-pop lyrics and main vocals, this album certainly earns Bleachbear a high position in Seattle’s recently expanding scene of all-female bands.
Cowboy Movie Star’s opening track “The Love Detectives” starts off with a distinct surf rock vibe similar to Seattle-born La Luz, but soon develops into a flavor unique to Bleachbear. Undertones of dark harmonies are soon highlighted by lyrics passionately sang by Tigerlily, and harmonized by other members as the song progresses and breaks into a faster and more poppy tone.
The only yet released track off the upcoming album, “Boy,” starts with some mad chords and dark surf tones, but is later highlighted and brought up again with an added catchy edge thanks to the vocals. This song gives listeners a glimpse into the ranging tone and sweet layered vocals to look forward to with the full release of Cowboy Movie Star.
Bleachbear highlights their unique beachside dream pop/surf sound and proves themselves to be a band you can’t skip out on with Cowboy Movie Star.
(Listen to the single “Boy” below now, and look for the full release of Cowboy Movie Star, out July 20th. You’ll be able to find the EP via bleachbear.bandcamp.com when it releases, among other places.)
