Album Review: Spirit Bear by Haverford

Haverford – Spirit Bear
03 September 2013
Self-released
Rating: 8
FFO: The Early November, Transit, Balance and Composure


by Ben Curttright 
It’s understandable if your Internet browsing or show-hopping hasn’t yet led you to Haverford. The
Long Island five-piece only entered the scene a year ago. But, what a year it’s been. Since releasing
their first EP, Wisdom Lost, in September 2012, Haverford have been featured on several splits and
compilations alongside bands like State Lines, Captain, We’re Sinking, and Dowsing. The next
natural step is, of course, a full length, and Haverford have answered the call with Spirit Bear, a
remarkably mature album from such a young band.

Immediately, the notion of Spirit Bear as a complete album shows itself through the ambient
lightness of the intro track, “Anxious”, which features sliding, tapped guitar, slow drumming, and
ethereal, building vocals. Several more traditional songs follow the intro. The drums pick up a bit,
though not much, and the vocals are given a bit more space to shine. Instrumentally, Haverford
resembles an early version of Balance and Composure, calling to mind the flowing, melodic guitars
of I Just Want to Be Pure.

Vocally, it’s a different story. The singing style is nearly identical to Ace Enders of The Early
November. Like, scary similar, especially on the acoustic tracks scattered throughout the album. It
isn’t clear whether the intense The Early November influence is intentional or whether it just
happened that way, but the closer, “A Slow Unraveling”, seems to owe a lot to The Early
November’s “Ever So Sweet”.

That isn’t to say that Haverford sound exactly like The Early November. Where The Early
November veer often toward the early 2000s pop-punk side of emo, Haverford’s Spirit Bear is
packed with slow, reserved songs that occasionally imply a buildup but hold back from arriving at a
climax. The marked reservedness underlines the completeness of the album. In a project like this,
you get one crescendo, and you’ve got to be careful about placing it. For Haverford, this one
cathartic moment arrives after “Berth”, a slow, wandering song, gives way naturally into the more
driven “Berth II”. With its ringing cymbals and higher vocals, “Berth II” is big, but after such a long
prelude, it feels like the final moment should have been bigger.

That said, the idea is incredibly refreshing. It’s rare to hear a self-released debut album that doesn’t
give off the impression of being a patchwork of songs. On Spirit Bear, Haverford display a unique
kind of musical talent and creativity. The only thing holding Haverford back at this point is
themselves.