B-Side Guys

Twenty years later, the rough edges tell their own story. This newly unearthed demo version of “Hooray” arrives as part of Menos el Oso‘s deluxe anniversary treatment, offering a fascinating glimpse into how Minus the Bear’s meticulous craft began as something far more spontaneous and raw.

The demo’s lo-fi production strips away the polish that made the album version so pristine, revealing the song’s fundamental architecture in all its asymmetrical glory. Dave Knudson’s finger-tapping techniques feel more exploratory here, less settled into their eventual patterns. There’s urgency in these performances—the sound of five musicians still discovering what they’re capable of together, before they became math rock royalty.

What’s remarkable is how fully formed the song’s DNA already was during these early sessions. The intricate interplay between Knudson’s guitar work and the rhythm section’s locked grooves suggests this band understood their chemistry from the beginning. Jake Snider’s vocals carry that same conversational intimacy that would become their trademark, though here it feels less controlled, more emotionally immediate.

Hearing this demo alongside knowledge of the band’s 2018 farewell makes the discovery feel especially poignant. Minus the Bear built their reputation on precision—every loop perfectly placed, every time signature change executed flawlessly. But this version reminds us that their best work always retained something human beneath the technical virtuosity.

For those planning to catch their Menos el Oso tour this fall (including us for the upcoming Denver date), this demo serves as perfect preparation—a reminder that these songs began as experiments before becoming anthems. The twenty-year gap between recording and release somehow makes “Hooray” feel both nostalgic and urgent, proof that some musical ideas simply refuse to age.