The mysterious members of Akron’s Breast: Cerberus, Yeti, Cthulu, and Mothra may be more recognizable by their human names of Steve Clements (keys), Adam Goldman (drums), Matt Haas (bass), and Scott Hartlaub (guitar). If neither Matt Haas nor Mothra ring a bell, then I can also tell you that the members of Beast play in or have played in nearly every band from the Akron/Kent scene including, but not limited to, Six Parts Seven, Houseguest, Goodmorning Valentine, Trouble Books, and Goodbye Ohio. Now, even if you have seen them around town in their other bands, I can all but guarantee that whatever you’ve heard in the past won’t prepare you for the mythical power of Beast. On “Wolf Bear,” from their forthcoming release, Power Animal, it’s as if they have harvested the blood of Wolf Parade, Wolf & Cub, Wolf Eyes, Aids Wolf, Peter and the Wolf, Peter Wolf, Peanut Butter Wolf, Wolfmother, Steppenwolf, Sea Wolf, Seabear, Minus the Bear, Panda Bear, Bear in Heaven, Grizzly Bear, and Bear vs Shark to assume the strength and agility of all wolf and bear bands. The result is a dizzying display of scratching, scaling, and crawling melodies hell bent on the creation of one monster, seven minute, prog-tastic jam.
Beast – Wolf Bear [download]
The debut record by Beast should be out later this month, or the next, and will be available at Square Records in Akron.
