Pizza Bear
Original Release Date: 04/10/2035
New Bear City welcomed home its prodigal bear with open bear arms. Pizza Bear had experienced several lifetimes since his meteoric rise. Be-bopping through the infinite layers of space, spreading his cheerful beats with aplomb could've cured any illness, but homesickness has only one antidote. Making appearances at his old haunts like Chianello's Pizza, his fame had not waned, and autographs, photos, and kisses on the cheek were relentless. Now back in his basement apartment beneath his Uncle's derelict pawn shop, a sense of innocence had been lost. Staring in the mirror, I thought this was not the same Pizza Bear who had busted his furry butt to afford the barely-working equipment that helped him lay down the tracks to his debut album, 30 Minutes or Less. His experiences had informed his beats and tinted each album with a bit of naivety and a bit of maturity, both evenly mixed, allowing for a tasty collection of evolutionary funk that still retained the sounds of New Bear City. Grabbing his pizza trucker hat off his nightstand, he hadn't worn it on an album cover since his debut; he burst into the night and rode his rusty bike through the mean streets. He had been hibernating for years, forgetting the night's pulse and the hope of dawn. Grizzly Bear, his sixth album, saw the cub grow into a hulking beast (though his size remained the same). The beats here are as funky as ever, with a pounding backbeat that drags you onto the dancefloor. This was an ode to the city that had made him and his growth as an artist and a little bear; a journey, a detailed map of New Bear City, with odds and ends, the quiet alleys, and the blistering lights. The beats here are, arguably, the best Pizza Bear has ever produced. The question is, would his continued success suddenly be swallowed by the metropolis itself? Or would he ride another wave to propel him, once again, far from his home and into the annals of the tastiest of beats?
Side A
Bruin
Swimming Upstream
Metabolic Depression
The Big Sleep
Side B
Gettin' My Groove Back
Hunter/Gatherer
Spring Forward
All My Friends Are Birds