Bicentennial Bear

Bicentennial Bear plays heart on their sleeves indie pop that is both smart and accessible. The Columbus quintet has released two critically lauded, full-length LPs, including 2015’s Doubt and Distortion. "I hear all sorts of stuff I like in there. Is that The Cars? Maybe a dash of Superchunk? Yeah, that’s my stuff. Some cool melodies, some very clever lyrics." - David Massimini, Ghettoblaster Magazine "While earnestly nostalgic for the ebullient power-pop and tight angled riffs of bands like The New Pornagraphers, The Cars and Jimmy Eat World, (the record) is still rewarding in the modern age… Bicentennial Bear come across as a bunch of guys - and one orchestra-bred girl - who take their time to assure a hook filled timestamp of smartly crafted pop." - Kevin Elliot, 614 Magazine Their debut, Lost Summers, was released in 2011 and received similarly kind reviews: "The album is that rare breed of genuinely smart pop, catchy and well-crafted but not over-crafted, as if the musicians know what happens when you work a song to death… The album is reminiscent of a whole passel of Cars and British New Wave records that I want to listen to, if I can put this disc down any time soon. It may be too early to call Lost Summers the album of the summer, but after letting it get under my skin, I'd call that a safe bet." - Rick Allen, The Other Paper Bicentennial Bear is Adam Dowell (Bass), Jason Mowery (drums), Billy Peake (guitar & vocals), Sean Sefcik (guitar) and Leah Wahlin (viola, keys & vocals). The band is currently writing songs for their third album, to be released in 2018 (if we’re all still here and not simmering in a crater, of course). Additional notes: Doubt & Distortion was Jason Mowery’s first album with the band. He joined in the spring of 2013. Prior to Bi Bear, Jason played drums with Special Aviation Project and Denovo. Sean Sefcik and Billy Peake have played music together for 17 years. First as members of Columbus stalwarts Miranda Sound from 1999 to 2008, and then Bi Bear, in which Sefcik moved from bass to guitar, from 2009 to present. Long time friend of Sefcik and Peake, Adam Dowell was in Celebrity Pilots and a handful of other Ohio bands; Leah Wahlin played viola in the Stillwater (Minnesota) Symphony Orchestra. She met Sean, Billy and Jason at the interactive design agency they all worked for in 2010. No one in the Afghan Whigs’ camp has confirmed or denied Bicentennial Bear’s claim that our 2011 holiday romp, “All I want for Christmas is an Afghan Whigs Reunion” was the impetus for the Whigs’ reunion tour and subsequent new album. But the timing of the song and the aforementioned reunion are hard to ignore. The band is currently writing songs for their third album, to be released in 2018 (if we’re all still here and not simmering in a crater, of course). http://bicentennialbear.com http://twitter.com/200yearbear