The more distant you get in our solar system, the more the planets tend to be covered with ice; from the lunar South Pole to the rings of Saturn, and the substance seems to coat the outer reaches of our universe like a snowy blanket. Alternately, for the past six years, Seattle's Minus the Bear have orbited the music world like a distant meteor, fine-tuning their unique brand of indie rock and discovering how technology can help enhance the band's unique pop vision - all of which is about to culminate with their latest full-length Planet of Ice, an album showing the band not so much transforming their sound as transcending it.

Formed in Seattle, Washington in 2001, Minus the Bear was initially formed by guitarist David Knudson, bassist Cory Murchy, and drummer Erin Tate who eventually recruited keyboardist/sequencer, Matt Bayles and vocalist/guitarist Jake Snider. Once in the same room they realized they were on to something special - and the band quickly earned a rabid and rapidly growing fan base ranging from teenagers to middle-aged parents. "I know every band says they can't explain their music, but I really can't say that we sound like one specific thing," Murchy explains. "We don't follow a particular scene or genre and hopefully that shows."

Minus the Bear's globally conscious outlook has in no doubt been influenced by the amount of time the band spend on the road, seamlessly pulling off their song's sonic intricacies live on festivals like Coachella and Bamboozle, as well as alongside seemingly disparate acts such as Cursive, Russian Circles, Criteria, P.O.S. and The Velvet Teen. "It's an interesting contrast," Snider explains, about the dichotomy between the band's dark lyricism and upbeat music, which is ever more prevalent on Planet of Ice. "I think that duality often makes for a better song because it gives it so much tension," he continues. "Subconsciously, that was even more exaggerated on this record due to being on the road so much and seeing the reality of this country firsthand."