I haven't seen the remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory yet, but I hear the visuals are stunning. I always loved the idea of a world made of candy, where everything is as edible as it is fun to play with. The chocolate river flowing around the grounds, the teacups, the gummy bears - all of it as sweet as one could imagine. I hope Tim Burton did the original justice, in that scene at least. The movie is made of fantasy and what better fantasy than a candy world? A child's dream, a diabetics nightmare…

Bears live in a fantasy world of their own, which they have graciously documented with this undeniably sweet, debut album. It's hard to believe this 60's influenced twee-pop comes from the dry and dull Midwest, but it does. Ohio to be exact. This group of six friends (who all apparently love Smashing Pumpkins) have picked up where the Zombies of the late 60's left off. Matched with the summertime bubblegum of the Beach Boys, Bears know how to make a person feel good. It's slight, it's simple and daggummit it is enjoyable.

Bears' greatest strength lies in their vocal qualities and harmonies; at times they sound like the Mama's & the Papa's visiting Frankie and Annette at a Beach Blanket Bingo tournament. With tinkling pianos adding a sugary flare to the Bears' sound, Bears is pretty and sweet as can be.

To close out the album the Ohioans make a run of songs that easily flow directly into one another. The short "Things I Should Say" (a song about the first hints of love between a new couple) melds into "Goodbye Song" so seamlessly that it is hard to realize there has been a track change until a minute and some change pass by. "Goodbye Song" in turn carries directly into "Still The Same," handclaps and all, stitching together a wonderful run of songs to ramp up the album into its closing track, "Stay." The finale, which is not a Lisa Loeb cover, sees the Bears stepping from the 60's into the 70's with an upbeat dance number that wears a patch from the Roxy Music fan club on its sleeve, taking the band a few steps into a dusky twilight, bringing out a more sexual side to Bears.

With genres being bent left and right I feel there are a lot of good bands around right now, but there is still something to be said for a band that marks its target and stays with it. Though the one and only downfall to Bears may be the repetitive nature in the sounds of each song, they sure can cute it up. They are charming. They are the Belle & Sebastian of the Midwest Americas. They are Bears and they've got the makings of your new favorite summertime band.