While you wouldn’t necessarily expect it from a band called “Bear Hands,” the four-member indie rock group is abreast of national news and politics. In fact, according to an interview with VICE, they’re a little obsessed.

“Well we’ve always been political junkies, just amateurs, we read a lot of news,” said vocalist-guitarist Dylan Rau. “We were talking about reading too much news today. And when you read the news, unless you’re a [...] idiot, you start thinking about it. And so that’s been building up a long while with me.”

Rau is referring to the politically-driven message and inspiration of “Songs from Utopia, Vol. 1,” the band’s most recent EP. Bear Hands will perform at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Mohawk Place with openers Fort Lean, Nelson-Type and Streamside. Tickets are available today for $13 from TicketWeb. Ages 16+, and the show is presented by After Dark Entertainment.

VICE.com reviewer Sophie Saint Thomas applauded the band’s recent releases, writing:

“The difference in the energy of the new material compared to classics such as “Tablasaurus” and “Crime Pays” was immense. The good news is the new stuff is super good. With a full-length album expected to come out sometime early next year, 2013 could very well be the year of Bear Hands.”

Rau is accompanied by Val Loper (bass), Ted Feldman (guitar) and T.J. Orscher (drums), and Bear Hands has opened for major acts like MGMT, Vampire Weekend and We Were Promised Jetpacks.