Bear’s Den / Brodie Barclay

The 2010s period was the time for folk to enter the mainstream. You had Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, and many others popularising kickdrums and instruments like the banjo and the mandolin. The effect was so big in fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a pop song that didn’t include these motifs to their gain.

But for those who delved a little deeper, you had Bear’s Den. Originally a three-piece formed in London in 2011, the band infused deep lyrics with deceivingly intricate guitar progressions, with banjos and horns adding the chorus to a familiar but comforting sound. With the release of their debut album ‘Islands’ on the 20th of October 2014, the band shot to prominence in the folk music scene. The album spent ten weeks in the UK albums charts, was certified gold, and led the group to play at festivals like Glastonbury, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and various others. The track ‘Above The Clouds Of Pompeii’, with its deeply personal lyrics and delicate guitar progression even netted them a nomination for an Ivor Novello Award.

Ten years on, the band have released another four albums and expanded beyond a three-piece arrangement. They haven’t felt the stratospheric success of ‘Islands’, but their devoted fanbase have constantly yearned for more. With that, the band sought to celebrate their debut release, opting for smaller more intimate venues wherein to play the album in full.

The Queens Hall in Edinburgh was one such venue, the second in a ten stop tour. Originally a chapel, it was the perfect setting for an intimate and seated meditation of the band’s music through the years, and the album that gave them their big break.

Brodie Barclay, a solo act from Perthshire was chosen to kick off the evening. “I’m Brodie by the way, I keep forgetting to say that,” he joked as he took the stage, setting the tone for his set to come. What followed was a blend of tongue-in-cheek yet endearingly personal songs, with the young artist definitely being one to keep an eye on in this scene. “I don’t have any merch, but I’ve got a bunch of rocks that I’ve painted faces on which you can have for free, so please come get one!”. And you best believe that a large line formed by the merch stand immediately to meet the man and take one of his coveted rocks.

Shortly thereafter, Bear’s Den took the stage, opening with ‘New Ways’, the first track from their most recent album ‘Blue Hours’. With frontman Andrew Davie still on the piano, the band quickly transitioned into ‘Evelyn’, a much-adored song from their latest EP. “We’re aware that this is a tour for ‘Islands ‘and we haven’t played anything from that album yet, but the idea is to play a couple songs from our other albums, and then play the whole of ‘Islands’ for you all,” announced Davie, which was met with a roar from the crowd.

‘Red Earth And The Pouring Rain’ filled the room with its mellow riffs and beaming synths, changing the mood almost entirely and demonstrating that this band is no one trick pony, but capable of sonically diversifying their signature sound. Diehard fans were in for a particular treat, as the band belted out ‘Don’t Let The Sun Steal You Away’, a song written when the band originally went by another name.

The standout moment in this opening set came with ‘Sophie’. “We like to perform this one with no microphones, so if you could be quiet with us, that would be amazing”. A haunting and truly beautiful rendition followed, with the crowd in the room only adding a touch of harmony at key moments, much to the delight of the band on stage. The opening set was closed out with ‘Laurel Wreath’, with the band announcing that a short intermission would take place before the celebration of ‘Islands’ would take place.

The time was finally here and the opening banjo twang of ‘Agape’ filled the room, the kick drum booming and filling the room with light at every thud and the energy in the room rising with every strum. “Come on Edinburgh!” exclaimed Davie at the apex of the song, with the audience returning a booming chorus to the song’s final verses. ‘The Love That We Stole’ followed and it was clear the crowd were in for a real treat, but then came an early defining moment with the performance of possibly the bands most popular song ‘Above The Clouds of Pompeii’. Every word sung was returned by the audience, and this reviewer even spotted a few tears being shed in a song so lyrically punchy and personal that one can only come to the conclusion that the story depicted is one from personal experience for the band members.

‘Isaac’ followed, and there’s probably no better venue for this song than an old church adorned with the ten commandments at its entrance. A simple yet deep telling of the life of Isaac, son of Abraham, the band had the audience exactly where they wanted them from this moment on, with Davie stepping away from the microphone for the final verse of the song, the crowd noticing and deciding to remain deathly silent at this point.

‘Magdalene’, ‘When You Break’, and ‘Stubborn Beast’ poured out in quick succession, with everyone in attendance taking in every lyric delivered as the album started to draw to a close. The band closed out the set with the hit ‘Elysium’, a song of redemption and hope which served as the perfect time for the band to have one more break before a short encore.

Returning to the stage, the band announced that with the final track on the album, ‘Bad Blood’ would be their final song. Standing eerily still through the performance and casting that spell on the room, the band delivered their final song, with Davie once again stepping away from the microphone to deliver an a cappella final verse not heard on the studio version of the song.

Applause filled the room and the band gathered on stage, bowing and clapping to a chorus of cheers and whoops. With it being his final tour with the band, original member Kevin Jones stayed on stage a little while longer, holding his hand to his heart and smiling at the Edinburgh crowd.

The crowd slowly exited the building, constantly murmuring with delight at what had been bestowed upon them. As a huge fan of Bear’s Den for many years, this was a personal delight, but I would defy anyone to see this band and hear their music and not be touched by at least one song.