Stream: Minus the Bear, ‘Fair Enough’ (from their farewell EP)

Kevin Bronson on July 18th, 2018

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Minus the Bear (Photo by Chona Kasinger)

After almost 18 years, six albums, a bunch of EPs and countless shows, Seattle’s Minus the Bear are calling it quits. They will release a final EP, “Fair Enough,” on Oct. 19 via Suicide Squeeze Records and then embark on a 32-date farewell tour that hits Los Angeles on Dec. 9

In a letter to fans signed by Alex Rose, Cory Murchy, Dave Knudson and Jake Snider, the band said:

After almost two decades of writing and touring the world together, we have decided to close this chapter of our lives as Minus the Bear.

What started as a silly inside joke inside the dingy confines of Seattle’s original Cha Cha Lounge back in 2001 quickly snowballed into years of adventures, creativity, and friendship. We could have never predicted the wild journey about to begin. We’ve accomplished so much over the past 17 years, and we are grateful for the experience.

Undoubtedly we owe all of these adventures to you, our fans. Without all of you, the memories of traveling the world, exploring different cultures, and witnessing the delight of your beautiful faces singing along wouldn’t have been possible. Your support weathered us through storms that easily could have scuttled the band. Throughout the years, it’s you who kept us going. We cannot thank you enough.

The band also talked at length with Stereogum about the decision.

The indie-rock sophisticates say goodbye with “Fair Enough,” a song that was originally written for the 2017 album “VOIDS,” then re-worked and then shelved.

“It just ended up being one of those songs that didn’t beat the others,” Rose said, explaining that later, as the band was revisiting its archives this year, “It jumped out as sounding done. I touched up the mix, fixed a few edits and sent it to everyone while we were on the recent ‘Planet of Ice’ anniversary tour. The other guys all listened together and by all accounts had ‘a moment.’ I think the song had taken on new meaning after we decided to end the band.”

||| Stream: “Fair Enough”