Bear Hands: "We spent more time obsessing over sounds on this record"

Bear Hands’ new album, the slightly ominous sounding ‘You’ll Pay For This’ landed in the UK last week. Frontman Dylan Rau puts aside doing his taxes [so responsible - Ed] in amongst a batch of US dates with Foals to explain how it came about.

Hey Dylan, how are your dates with Foals going? Did you know the band beforehand?

We toured with Foals once before and definitely developed a deep bond very quickly. It's an honour to share the road with them and a pleasure watching their set every night.

What are the main ways ‘You’ll Pay For This’ is a progression from your last two records?

I think we spent more time obsessing over sounds on this record than any previous album. Lots of synth experimentation and drum machines and the like.

What environment did you write it in, and how did that feed into the music?

Ted and I camped out in this cool little cabin near Big Bear California that's owned by a friend of a friend and stays pretty vacant. It was definitely helpful to get away and create in isolation.

Did you know what you wanted to create before you started, and to what extent was that realised?

I really take music making song by song. So once the lyrics or skeleton of a song is written then it's possible to set your goals and stride confidently forward.

What’s your biggest achievement with this release?

Just having three LPs worth of tunes out there is a very validating feeling but I hope we're building up enough of a rep to have music snobs acknowledge our existence.

Who do you think ‘You’ll Pay For This’ will best resonate with? Is it a personal record?

I think anything you spend six months straight on becomes personal. We don't discriminate when it comes to building a fan base. Come one come all.

What’s it like being a band from Brooklyn at the moment? Has it changed much over the past few years?

North Brooklyn has been so rapidly gentrified and turned into the bourgie nightmare, I feel lucky to have relocated to Los Angeles.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learnt during your time in the band?

Don't criticise someone right after a show. Save it for the next morning or next period of prolonged sobriety.

Taken from the November issue of Dork. Bear Hands’ album ‘You’ll Pay For This’ is out now.