Bearsuit - Princess, You’re A Test

‘It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this distortion pedal.’

Quoting a piece of dialogue from ‘The Legend of Zelda’ there may have been somewhat misleading, since the ‘princess’ being addressed by Bearsuit in these two minutes and thirty-four seconds of propulsive indie rock is more than likely being referred to as such in a sarky way.

Coming straight ouf of the gates with pounding drums and, um, glockenspiel, ‘Princess, You’re A Test’ then spits bile-filled lyrics raging at an annoyingly precious female. Said theme is pretty much summed up in that title - which is probably why the majority of the lyrics are just that line repeated throughout, but with enough variation (and across a short enough time frame) to stay on the right side of catchy.

The lead vocals do seem slightly less committed to the cause of cutting the princess in question down to size, but elsewhere, the band do a good line in ‘woo-ooo-ooo’ harmonies. If you’re feeling charitable, they could be said to be reminiscent of Pavement (and if not, The Subways), with a similar fuzzy garage aesthetic which don’t provide many originality points but work well for the song.

Twinkling keys low down at the mix hint at something more, but essentially they’re a scuzzier, less twee version of Fortuna Pop! labelmates The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, with a similar sense of melody and fun.