Himalayan Bear

"Guitar Born to Howl"

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Aug 21, 2015

While at one point Ryan Beattie was a member of Frog Eyes, the Victoria-based musician has been carving out his own path as Himalayan Bear for years. Next week, the project self-releases its next LP, No Golden Kingdom, but you can sample a 48-karat cut from the platter ahead of time. Their "Guitar Born to Howl" is online now.

The song starts off with a tender tap of a tambourine, a ragged shuffle of guitar and Beattie's creaky vocals, here detailing "the spectre of you, forever frozen in your youth." Despite this, the song then has him noting that "memory breaks down" before it surges into a full-band arrangement big on fuzzed six-string leads, bustling drums and conflicting washes of melancholia and perseverance.

"I am a blip of light," Beattie intones throughout the back end of the piece. You can determine how powerful a sentiment this is by giving the song a spin down below.

Tour dates:

08/27 Vancouver, BC - The Lido
08/29 Victoria, BC - Northern Quarter
08/30 Nanaimo, BC - The Vault.

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