The Bear Quartet was a cult indie rock band from Luleå in northern Sweden. They were formed in the summer of 1989 with the original roster of Mattias Alkberg on guitar and vocals, Jari Haapalainen and Johan Forsling on guitar, Peter Nuottaniemi on bass, and Magnus Olsson on drums. However, the band's lineup changed significantly before eventually settling on Mattias Alkberg on vocals and guitar, Jari Haapalainen on guitar, Peter Nuottaniemi on bass, on drums, and Calle Olsson on keyboards. Their name is a reference to the novel Gentlemen by Klas Östergren. Although they were formed in 1989, they didn't garner the attention of a record label until 1992. They made records at a steady rate from 1992, with their debut album, Penny Century, to 2010 with their final album Monty Python. Their albums were often received favorably, but they never resulted in large sales, usually only selling between 1,000 and 10,000 units per disc. The band is very obscure across the world, although they are much better known in Sweden.
Music
The lyrics of their music were written by Alkberg and Nuottaniemi, and the music was written by Alkberg, Haapalainen, and Calle Olsson. The band was very unusual compared to other bands in a variety of ways, such as their unwillingness to play old songs at live performances. They have also had several guests on their music such as Sibille Attar on Monty Python, Karin Dreijer on Personality Crisis, Alexandra Dahlström on Ny Våg, and Mats Levén on Eternity Now. At the beginning of their career, The Bear Quartet made much louder, fast-paced rock music which would often be very reliant on electric guitars, although later songs by the band would have a slower tempo and be more reliant on acoustic guitars, and others would have a much more varied instrumentation. They would later attempt many other different styles, such as the much more experimental style of , Saturday Night, and Eternity Now. After Eternity Now came 89 in 2009. 89 was a completely new kind of album for the band, although this style would be retired shortly after it was introduced, as their final album, Monty Python, had a much different sound than 89, and the band had stopped releasing music after two albums under .
All albums by The Bear Quartet (with the exception of their two final albums, 89 and Monty Python, which were released under Adrian Recordings) were released on Skellefteå-based independent record label , although they also released "Blizzard" as a single under Sticky Records, with "Headacher" as the B-side.
The band's albums follow a very unusual naming scheme. Every title consists of two words, with the first always ending in a "y", although it is unknown why they chose this naming scheme. However, singles and EPs by the band do not follow this naming scheme. The only full-length album they've released that doesn't follow this naming scheme is their penultimate album, 89. Although, the word "eighty-nine" consists of two words (eighty and nine), and eighty ends in a "y".
Career
A West Side Fabrication era
The Bear Quartet was formed in 1989 and they were signed to A West Side Fabrication in the spring of 1992. After they were signed to A West Side Fabrication, they released their debut album, Penny Century, on 20 October 1992. Following the release of Penny Century, drummer Magnus Olsson left the band and was replaced by Urban Nordh. The band released Cosy Den, Family Affair, and "Blizzard/Headacher" in 1993 followed by Revisited in 1994.
Following the release of Cosy Den on 5 June 1993, The Bear Quartet recorded a session for John Peel, a British disc jockey, radio presenter, and record producer. In 1993, when the session was recorded, the band did not have a permit to work in England, so the session was recorded in Studio KN in Skellefteå. Peel also conducted a phone interview with Haapalainen. This session was collected on the band's compilation album, Early Years. The songs recorded for this session include "Spoon", "High Noon", "Hrrn Hrrn", "Gone Gone", and "Sandi Morning and Lude".
In the spring of 1995, Haapalainen and Nordh moved to Stockholm and Forsling left the band. This forced the band to stop releasing music temporarily. However, they were able to continue making music afterward, and they released It Only Takes a Flashlight to Create a Monster, Everybody Else, Flux Detail, Holy Holy, and Tibet later that year. Following their most prolific year in 1995, 1996 was the first year of their career in which The Bear Quartet did not release any music due to Nordh's departure from the band in the summer of that year. However, eventually he was succeeded by Perkovic.