Minus The Bear Announces ‘Menos el Oso’ 20th Anniversary Reissue

Ahead of their reunion tour slated for this fall, Minus The Bear will reissue their sophomore album, 2005’s Menos el Oso, to commemorate the album’s 20th anniversary. The beloved Seattle indie band unveiled the deluxe vinyl release, as well as the demo version of the track “Hooray,” on Tuesday (May 20), with the reissue scheduled for an Aug. 22 release on longtime label Suicide Squeeze.

“We toured so much for Menos el Oso — all these songs and riffs are stuck in my muscle memory like core childhood memories,” says guitarist Dave Knudson. “The fingers and feet instinctively know where to tap and stomp at just the right time to make the notes and melodies leap out of my guitar. 

“We were trying to push the envelope back in 2005 on this one,” Kudson continues, “incorporating glitchy guitar samples, hip-hop breakbeats and more electronic elements to the sound we had established on [2002 debut] Highly Refined Pirates. Proud to say that 20 years later it still sounds fresh and I’m grateful people keep coming back to it as one of their favorites!”

The Menos el Oso reissue will include a remastered version of the original album, five unreleased original demos, and Los Archivos Del Oso, a 24-page archive photo journal from the band’s personal collection. The double-vinyl reissue is now available for pre-order.

“Oso is a band and fan favorite!” says singer-guitarist Jake Snider. “We came into our sound on this record. Excited people get to hear these demos for the first time! Revisiting demos and hearing the evolution of some of these tracks puts me right back in our early 2000s practice space. And now we’re literally back in that same practice space for rehearsals. It’s wild!”

Minus The Bear announced their reunion earlier this year following a farewell tour in 2018 and seven-year breakup. The band will perform Menos el Oso in its entirety during a headlining run that begins on Oct. 4 in Portland, and includes a headlining gig at the Best Friends Forever festival in Las Vegas on Oct. 10.

Hear the “Hooray” demo below: