I was first introduced to Bear’s Den a couple of years ago when I watched their heart wrenching video for ‘Above the Cloud’s of Pompeii’, a haunting track about the loss of a loved one. It was typical of their style, a subdued and melancholy folk music perfect to listen to on lazy Sundays. But since then the band have undergone quite a transformation; they’ve lost a member to become a duo and replaced tinkling banjos with electric guitars. No longer lazy Sunday music, their latest album Red Earth & Pouring Rain is perfect for night-time driving.

I had my doubts about how these two very different and distinctive albums would match up in one live show, and there was an obvious disjunction between the two. After Banfi played a catchy set, and the jazzy electronic beats and smooth vocals of Seramic had warmed up the audience, Bear’s Den launched straight into the title track from their latest album. It’s driving beat and strumming electric guitars filled the O2 Academy, and Andrew Davie’s lead vocals are startlingly more powerful and vivid when heard live. The band played a decent offering from Red Earth, with tracks like ‘Emeralds’ and ‘Dew on the Vine’ standing out as the most memorable and foot tapping, although they didn’t stir as much of a response from the crowd as tracks off debut album Islands.

These songs were clearly fan favourites, and elicited the most clapped beats and sing-along lyrics. The soaring ending of ‘Elysium’ and the gloriously uplifting ‘Agape’ were stand out favourites, with banjos and trumpets showing the musical variety of the band’s repertoire. ‘Above the Clouds of Pompeii’ finished off the set poignantly, with the crowd singing along to every word, before the band headed back on stage for an encore. They hushed the crowd into silence for an unplugged version of ‘Bad Blood’, the perfect way to showcase the vocal talents of the duo.

Although this was a gig where the energy ebbed and flowed, and songs off the latest album arguably didn’t bring as much power to the room as older favourites did, Bear’s Den still brought their music vividly alive with a brilliant live show.

Jessica Murray

Image: Alex Huggan