There are some songs that draw you in no matter where you might be. Whether listening to it alone in your bedroom, driving in your car, or standing in the middle of an audience hearing it at live show, you feel like you’re alone and this song is just between you and the artist. Bear Attack’s “The Backpack Song” always does this for me. Contrary to their moniker, this LA-based band’s sound is gentle and inviting. Sounding similar to artists like Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver, and the Swell Season, Bear Attack’s songs frequently invoke the impression of innermost feelings being expressed openly and honestly.
“The Backpack Song” opens with a piano, acoustic bass and muted guitar repeating a single chord and creating a simple, though not stark, feel that gives the song space to breathe and grow. The highlight is vocalists Eric Radloff and Mia Minichiello, who blend their voices together beautifully, moving easily between unison and harmony. Lines like “Why do I always have to leave the only one I’ll ever need/Now hold me close while I breathe you,” sung with a gentle power and accompanied by the swell and wane of the instrumentation, not only convey the depth of the singers’ feelings of love and personal intimacy, but also invites the listener to sink into the intimacy inherent in the song itself.
“The Backpack Song” will be on Bear Attack’s upcoming EP – slated to be released in early March 2012.
