Band of the Week: Bears

Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio 

Fun Fact: The band jokingly lists The Oneders—the 60's pop heartthrobs from the Tom Hanks movie That Thing You Do!—as its one and only influence. And for the record, it's pronounced "wonders," not "oh-knee-ders."

Why They're Worth Watching: D.I.Y., multi-instrumentalist duo crafts light-as-air melodies that hark back to an era of unassuming, saccharine-free feel-good pop. 

For Fans Of: The Shins, Rogue Wave, Camera Obscura

At first, the songs from Cleveland-based duo Bears sound casual and jaunty, exemplifying breezy pop that aspires to be nothing other than good-natured and agreeable. But there proves to be underlying hurt behind some of the lyrics. On "Wait and See," the band bemoans: "I can't take it / I give up / I knew that we were doomed right from the start." The relationship-minded songs are accompanied by sunny, toe-tapping arrangements, and it's a juxtaposition the duo embraces—as if they take the good with the bad in equal stride, and hope for the best at the end of it.

Charlie McArthur ( just released its second full-length album, Simple Machinery, in September, and has played a smattering of shows in and around Ohio and the East Coast in support of it.

McArthur says Simple Machinery represents the work of more confident artists. "We had more of an idea of where we wanted to go with it, sound-wise, having already done an album. Our first album might have been a bit more spontaneous, but this one's more mature."

That sound is undeniably rooted in '60s-era pop, especially on "Please Don't," a slick, debonair two-minute track bolstered by a Farfisa organ. Assorted keys, bells, whistles, tambourines, and hand claps are commonplace on each record, with airy vocals from both McArthur and Ramsey seamlessly meshing together.

Each admit to being fans of '60s Brit pop rockers The Zombies, and it's a fair comparison. "I listen to a lot of newer pop bands, a lot of bands on this Swedish label Labrador Records," McArthur says. "But Craig definitely has the '60s influences. He got me into the older music, and I got him into the newer stuff."

Bears are many things, but one thing they aren't is long-winded. Neither Simple Machinery or the band's 2006 self-titled debut broach the 40-minute mark. But the band's expediency is a testament to the type of music it wants to make. Just don't call that music twee. "I don't like the word twee," McArthur says. "It sounds too cute to me. I don't mind being grouped with twee bands, because I like a lot of them. But when people ask me what our music sounds like, I say it's just indie pop." Nothing wrong with that.