Opaque: Spirit of the Bear

Photo by Nick Fancher

Rising Ohio indie-rock experts Spirit of the Bear has further expanded into cosmic, synth-rock sonic territory with their latest single and music video “Opaque.” In the video, the band finds themselves acting, running, painting, gaming, and literally fighting in a mini-epic that showcases the band members kinship. SPOILER ALERT: The stress of creating genre-mashing hits causes the band to break up. Is it for good? Will Spirit of the Bear reunite to release their 3rd full-length album? You’ll have to watch the video to find out!

“Opaque” begins with a tender Animal Collective/Beach Boys-esque a capella choral, the harmony, and structure came to singer/guitarist James Harker in the shower after musing on Tyler, The Creator’s Igor. The pretty a capella intro is soon backed by a synth-laden, Beach House reminiscent indie rock backing track. “Am I making sense? Am I making sound?” Harker inquires in a hypnotic croon that wouldn’t be too unfamiliar in a Still Woozy song. The Midwestern Quintet’s last single “Summer Snow” was their most successful release to date as the song found a spot on Spotify’s “Fresh Finds: Indie” playlist and has racked up over the 30,000 streams on Spotify alone.

And while “Summer Snow” was a disco-influenced pop banger, “Opaque” is more introspective and showcases the band’s vulnerabilities. “Opaque” will be released everywhere on September 4th.

Check out the music video on YouTube or stream the new single on Spirit of the Bear's Spotify page!