Post-punk electro band Bear Hands recently announced the October 18 release of a new album, The Key to What via their long-time home, Cantora Records. The album, their first in almost five years, is filled with the danceable beats and earworm hooks that the band is known for.  Across the LP’s 10 tracks they explore themes of survival, escapism, and, true to their style, finding humor even “when it hurts.” They have further teased The Key To What with their new single “Adderall / Ambien.”  The band’s frontman Dylan Rau says, “this song chronicles a personal history with drugs and includes a discussion of which ones will ruin your life and which ones will make life worth living,” further noting, “Your mileage may vary!”  

Bear Hands shot a video for the song which was initially conceived of as a more malevolent sequel of their’ 2014 “Agora” video.  Drawing on a long-dormant film school education, it was directed by Rau with help from the band’s old friend and noted photographer Christopher Saunders and producer partner Ursula Strauss. They also won over 75 dollars on scratch-off lotto tickets during the experience thereby defraying the cost of production considerably.

Rau says “the visuals for ‘Adderall / Ambien’ paint a portrait of life in the grip of addiction and isolation whilst also having a pretty good time.” 

Fueled by generic pharmaceuticals and a persistent fear of irrelevance, the band (Rau, bassist Val Loper, and drummer TJ Orscher) convened at a small home studio in Cherry Hill, NJ, to do some real-life recording. New creative collaborator and touring guitarist Alex Marans produced the sessions, wrote some guitar leads, and prepared elaborate breakfast scrambles on most mornings. Everything was floated on the band’s long-suffering American Express Business card.

This fall Bear Hands will play songs off The Key to What alongside fan favorites on their “Distraction 10” tour (celebrating a decade since the release of their acclaimed sophomore album Distraction) The dates kick off on October 27 in Hartford, CT, and concluding in Seattle, WA, on November 17. The tour makes stops in Brooklyn, NY, for a show at Music Hall Of Williamsburg on November 1 and at the Teragram in Los Angeles, CA on November 12. All dates are listed below, and tickets are on-sale now.

Bear Hands tour dates
10/27 – New Park – West Hartford, CT
10/29 – Underground Arts – Philadelphia, PA
10/30 – Union Stage – Washington, DC
11/1 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY
11/2 – Middle East – Cambridge, MA
11/4 – Lee’s Palace – Toronto, ON
11/5 – Blind Pig – Ann Arbor, MI
11/6 – Outset – Chicago, IL
11/7 – Fine Line – Minneapolis, MN
11/9 – Meow Wolf – Denver, CO
11/11 – Crescent Ballroom – Phoenix, AZ
11/12 – Teragram – Los Angeles, CA
11/13 – Cornerstone – Berkeley, CA
11/15 – Alladin Theatre – Portland, OR
11/16 – Neumos – Seattle, WA

Photo Courtesy: Elinor Kry