Biography
London alt-country and indie folk outfit Bear's Den achieved U.K. chart prominence after drawing inspiration from sincere, pastoral folk-rock acts including Mumford & Sons, the Avett Brothers, and Stornoway on their 2014 debut album Islands. Extensive touring expanded their reach beyond Britain, enabling the more pop-oriented follow-up Red Earth & Pouring Rain to succeed across Europe in 2016 and clear the path for So That You Might Hear Me three years later. Orchestral reworkings of earlier material, arranged by longtime associate Paul Frith, appeared on the 2021 fourth album Fragments.
The band coalesced in 2012 when ex-Cherbourg musicians Andrew Davie on vocals and guitar and Kev Jones on vocals, guitar, and drums joined banjoist and singer Joey Haynes. Early experience came from shared bills with Of Monsters and Men, the Smoke Fairies, and Matt Corby, followed by an opening slot for Mumford & Sons at London's O2 Arena in 2012. Communion issued the initial EPs Without/Within and Agape the next year. Recording of the debut album Islands took place with producer Ian Grimble in 2014; the set entered the U.K. albums chart inside the Top 50 upon its late-year release, and the track "Above the Clouds of Pompeii" earned an Ivor Novello nomination in early 2015. Tours spanning the U.S., Europe, and the U.K. filled the remainder of that year. Haynes departed at the start of 2016 to prioritize family time, leaving Jones and Davie to continue.
Red Earth & Pouring Rain, again produced by Grimble, reached number six at home in July 2016 and registered strongly elsewhere in Europe. After further touring and writing, the pair traveled to Seattle to cut their third album with Phil Ek, whose credits include Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, and the Shins. Two advance singles preceded the April 2019 arrival of So That You Might Hear Me, which was supported by a Highlands and Islands tour of Scotland; the Christmas, Hopefully EP closed the year. Fragments, an orchestral reworking of twelve catalog songs for piano and strings, surfaced in 2020 under Frith's arrangements. Pandemic restrictions on live work prompted focused writing that drew on themes of isolation, leading to the fifth album Blue Hours, tracked once more with Grimble and introduced by the November 2021 single "All That You Are," which arrived in full the following year.
The band coalesced in 2012 when ex-Cherbourg musicians Andrew Davie on vocals and guitar and Kev Jones on vocals, guitar, and drums joined banjoist and singer Joey Haynes. Early experience came from shared bills with Of Monsters and Men, the Smoke Fairies, and Matt Corby, followed by an opening slot for Mumford & Sons at London's O2 Arena in 2012. Communion issued the initial EPs Without/Within and Agape the next year. Recording of the debut album Islands took place with producer Ian Grimble in 2014; the set entered the U.K. albums chart inside the Top 50 upon its late-year release, and the track "Above the Clouds of Pompeii" earned an Ivor Novello nomination in early 2015. Tours spanning the U.S., Europe, and the U.K. filled the remainder of that year. Haynes departed at the start of 2016 to prioritize family time, leaving Jones and Davie to continue.
Red Earth & Pouring Rain, again produced by Grimble, reached number six at home in July 2016 and registered strongly elsewhere in Europe. After further touring and writing, the pair traveled to Seattle to cut their third album with Phil Ek, whose credits include Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, and the Shins. Two advance singles preceded the April 2019 arrival of So That You Might Hear Me, which was supported by a Highlands and Islands tour of Scotland; the Christmas, Hopefully EP closed the year. Fragments, an orchestral reworking of twelve catalog songs for piano and strings, surfaced in 2020 under Frith's arrangements. Pandemic restrictions on live work prompted focused writing that drew on themes of isolation, leading to the fifth album Blue Hours, tracked once more with Grimble and introduced by the November 2021 single "All That You Are," which arrived in full the following year.
Albums
Singles
