Art Bears

Formed as an uncompromising English avant-garde rock band, Art Bears brought together guitarist Fred Frith, drummer Chris Cutler, and vocalist extraordinaire Dagmar Krause. Both Frith and Cutler had spent years in the seminal radical art rock band Henry Cow, whereas Krause had built her reputation chiefly through the fine German band Slapp Happy before joining Henry Cow during its final period. Conceived only as a brief venture, the trio nevertheless produced three excellent albums across their three-year span, favoring concise, traditional, nearly pop-oriented song structures over expansive, intricate musical and lyrical designs. The political edge that had marked the Henry Cow era persisted, so Marxist rhetoric and anti-capitalist diatribes supplied much of the new group’s lyrical foundation. Frith demonstrated the same astonishing technical command he had shown in Cow, merging a searing, intricate approach that recalled the free-music improvisations of seminal British guitarist Derek Bailey with an early affection for blues and the first wave of British rock & roll. Cutler, equally a pop-music theorist and drummer, delivered restless, skittish propulsion on his trap kit, supplying the rhythmic platform that allowed Frith’s playing to shine. Krause’s quasi-operatic, distinctly German delivery could prove challenging at first listen, yet she remained a daring vocalist who would contort her instrument into unexpected knots or unleash raw, exuberant cries without restraint. Although the band’s existence proved brief, Art Bears created and documented bold, challenging, and idiosyncratic music that rewards close attention despite its occasional demands.