The Act: CHINA BEARS

The Track: 'EASY KILL'

The Format: DIGISINGLE

The Release Date: FEBRUARY 26TH 2024

The Purchase & Listening Link: linktr.ee/chinabears_participationtrophy

The Video: YouTube Here

The Truth: Originally formed in Somerset by twin brothers Ivan (lead vocals / guitar) and Frazer (lead guitar), the China Bears line up was completed after meeting James (bass) and Dean (drums) at university in Guildford. 'Easy Kill' is the Bears' brand new single, and the first track to be taken from their debut album, due on July 12th and available on a multitude of formats from here: linktr.ee/chinabears_participationtrophy

If melodic diligence counts for anything in what is left of the music industry China Bears are masters of their arty leftfield craft: throughout a series of terrific tours and exquisitely-balanced EP releases with names like 'I've Never Met Anyone Like You', 'Statue Still' and 'All That Distance', they have displayed an innate ability to blend the alt.rock rush with the acoustic hush.

Whether it’s ripping apart the stage with their misery-anthemic indie or encapturing the room to pin drop silence singing their songs shoulder to shoulder in the middle of the crowd, China Bears have gained recognition for their emotive high energy and intimate performances which have drawn knowing comparisons to The National, Death Cab For Cutie and Frightened Rabbit.

2024 will see China Bears cash in on all that magical work on the margins. Already planning for a second trip to SXSW, their debut album is called 'Participation Trophy' and was recorded in the autumnal sunshine of Leith with Rod Jones from Idlewild at the production controls. 'Easy Kill' is the perfectly imperfect entry point, it being muscular and moving and epic and ever-so-quietly putting the 'emo' into 'emotional'.

"'Easy Kill' is a song about the initial hesitance that sometimes comes when letting others in, but ultimately celebrating vulnerability and being truly open around the people you care about," explains Ivan. "To love and be loved by someone can put you in a terrifyingly defenseless place. 'Easy Kill' challenges that feeling, that it is in fact a beautiful experience when two people feel so connected and close to one another, so much so that they’re both willing to risk enduring the pain that may come with the absence from one another."

Having kicked off the new year with an intimate show at Hackney Two Palms for the Pandamonium Festival China Bears will be touring later in the year. In the meantime they take their angst and angular emotions to these places here:
FEBRUARY 29TH BRIDGWATER BAR BRUNEL (SXSW FUNDRAISER)

MARCH 7TH THAME SNOOKER CLUB (SXSW FUNDRAISER)

MARCH 8TH LONDON CAMDEN ASSEMBLY (w/ NEON WALTZ)

MARCH 11-16TH AUSTIN SXSW

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