With a sound that combines the influences of Shellac, Sicbay, and The Jesus Lizard, Bear Claw's second LP Slow Speed: Deep Owls is a throwback that era.

The sound of Chicago's Bear Claw is quite the anomaly these days. However, if you went back 15 to 20 years, they would have been surrounded by a surplus of angular and abrasive rock bands. Facilitated by labels that specialized in the genre (Touch & Go, Amphetamine Reptile, Trance Syndicate, Skingraft, and others), these bands thrived and experienced a higher level of popularity then any other time before or since. However, as things go when bands break up and when musicians grow up, these bands grew smaller and smaller in number. While the current day has plenty of challenging rock groups, the sound that defined this era has comparatively disappeared.

With a sound that combines the influences of Shellac, Sicbay, and The Jesus Lizard, Bear Claw's second LP Slow Speed: Deep Owls is a throwback that era. Opening on a low-key, reflective note with the record's title track, Bear Claw utilizes their dual bass attack (no guitars to be found) to its fullest. The results are a top-notch rock record for those who listen to their old Dazzling Killmen and Craw records with a slight twinge of melancholy over the current state of independent music. Though Slow Speed: Deep Owls does not approach the volume of those groups, Bear Claw certainly show the chops that should not disappoint those who loved the mid-'90s and the volume. B+ | David Lichius