Rebecca's Rambles…

Tucked away on the outskirts of Newcastle is one of the city’s best bars with space upstairs as a music venue. The Cluny offers an intimate room for performers with a basic square stage and narrow audience standing area. Only last month (15th February) did I have the pleasure to hear live music from Bear’s Den. This review is a little ‘better later than never’, as the band deserve recognition for their ear pleasing melodies coupled with catchy lyrics.

This is the fourth time I have seen them live and they always have the crowd hypnotised with their sound. I remember seeing them last year at Somersault festival and they managed to instantly win over and capture the audience’s attention despite a 45-minute long sound check. This shows both their professionalism as well as natural stage presence. The thing I like about the lead, Andrew Davie, is his humour and audience conversation is not in any way forced.

Year on year they have grown as a band and I can definitely say they offer a tight-knit set with little hesitation. Similar bands such as Iron and Wine and Mumford and Sons started just like this; raw sound, energy and emotion and I hope Bear’s Den follow in their (paw)prints and go on to gain further fans and opportunities. Though obviously keeping ticket prices reasonable for all those loyal fans, right?

Their hour and a quarter long set (approx) did not disappoint and they performed some, if not all, of their carefully crafted songs that provoke such emotion and energy. ‘When You Break, ‘Elysium’, ‘Agape’ and ‘Sophie’ were the most memorable of the night.

The beauty of their music is that it is raw and does not rely on being heavily produced or manipulated. It is very simply, a handful of guys and instruments with little production, married with the distinctive vocals from lead, Andrew Davie.

I have noticed recently they’ve been updating their songs ever so slightly. For instance, early fans may recognise that their latest YouTube video of the powerful hit Agape, has been sped up and features different harmonies. It is
filmed in the beautiful beach setting of the South West, Devon (where I consider my second home).

I for one prefer the original but can see the benefit in the recently-produced, smoother version. However the cutting edge, raw sound is forever embedded in the first recording of this song.

The Bear’s Den epidemic will reach a venue near you, in the not too distant future hopefully…

Bear’s Den can be found here, they’re also on Facebook and tweet over at @bearsdenmusic. If you haven’t come across this band yet, be sure to lend them your ear to Spotify one evening this week!