UTG Premiere: The Bunny The Bear – “High Tides And Swimming Conditions”

Today we are beyond excited to join The Bunny The Bear in premiering a brand new song titled “High Tides And Swimming Conditions.” It’s the first track to be released off the band’s forthcoming album, Food Chain, which is scheduled for release March 18 on Victory Records. Pre-orders are available now.

Showcasing the latest evolution of the group’s signature sing/scream delivery, “High Tides And Swimming Conditions” finds The Bunny The Bear presenting their most well-rounded sound to date. It’s in line with what fans have come to expect from the group, but there is no denying that they have grown as musicians since the days of If You Don’t Have Anything Nice To Say. You can stream the song below.

We had the chance to speak with ‘The Bunny’ about Food Chain and the importance of sharing “High Tides” with fans over the weekend.

UTG: Thanks again for taking a moment to speak with us ahead of this single premiere. We’re excited to be involved in your album promotion cycle. I’m curious, what makes “High Tides and Swimming Conditions” the perfect song to introduce fans to your latest material?

TBTB: No problem, man! I honestly think it’s one of the few tracks on FC that sounds a tad closer to older material of ours. I think it’s important to ease people into our new releases, not just throw the biggest curveball, sound wise, that you can right away.

UTG: What can you tell us about the story behind the song?

TBTB: “High Tides” is actually an extremely old track in my writing catalog. I originally wrote most of it in 2008, which might surprise most of our fans. I always loved the layout I had for it, just never had the chance to use it. I kind of went back and visited it to rekindle a flame and it all fell into place this time around. I’m really happy with how it turned out!

UTG: This song has a lot of clean singing, but it’s worth noting there is still a lot of heavy material to be found on the new album. Do you feel you music has grown heavier or softer with this release? Perhaps none of the above?

TBTB: I think, overall, this release has some of the heaviest material we’ve done for sure. There’s the newer sound too but I tried to make some songs as heavy as possible – it was just time for it. ‘Stories,’ our last album, was pretty mellow in comparison so I wanted to do something different. Change is fun.

UTG: This is your fourth full-length recording with Victory, and fifth overall if we’re counting the self-titled release from 2010. What do you think ‘Food Chain’ offers listeners that they may not have encountered on previous releases?

TBTB: I think it’s just more a full experience, if that makes sense? I think the tracks on FC are more well-rounded and matured than we have been in the past. There’s a lot to this release. There are textures and song structures that I wanted to experiment with instead of just following the formula of making a TBTB record. Making this many records for a band is bound to change some of the sound – you grow as people, you grow as musicians and you want to try new things while still balancing the formula that made fans like you in the first place. I think this record offers the most for people. If you liked our earlier, heavier records, then we’ve got the heavier parts. If you liked our latter, more experimental records, there’s plenty of that too.

UTG: The album art for the new album is completely different from the artist direction we have seen on previous The Bunny The Bear release. What can you tell us about the inspiration behind the new look, as well as the cover art design overall?

TBTB: I really wanted to take the album art in a different direction than past releases. It just felt right. I honestly just needed a break from that whole… tons of colors, crazy, strange illustration look. We opted to go a tad more serious and darker looking. Most of our fans are not your typical scene fans. I wanted to get away from the neon colors and the implications that come with that.

UTG: Food Chain is available for preorder now and will soon be in stores. Looking ahead at 2014, what goals do you have for yourself and the band?

TBTB: Stay busy, that’s really all I can hope for. We’ve been headlining and next we’re going on tour with Mindless Self Indulgence. Working on some other very cool opportunities for later this year as well. Gotta keep grinding away!

James Shotwell
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One Response to “UTG Premiere: The Bunny The Bear – “High Tides And Swimming Conditions””

  1. These guys continue to amaze! Love the unique style and the subject matter! Couldn’t be more uplifting considering my “current” situation. TBTB FTW!