Bear's Den
Album: Islands
Label: Communion
Tracks: 10
Website: http://www.bearsdenmusic.co.uk

Following a brace of EP releases over the last 18 months or so, a sprinkling of stardust from a passing association with the Mumfords and the kind of buzz that started as a near-silent hum and is fast becoming a scream, Bear's Den finally get round to releasing a proper album.

Some of this will be familiar to those who've heard the EPs, but with Manic Street Producers/The 1975 knob twiddler Ian Grimble at the helm, these versions of previously released songs such as Agape, have a sheen and a zip that sets them apart from earlier incarnations.

Like the Mumfords, Bear's Den expound the virtues of anthemic folk-based pop music, but unlike their stellar pals, they sound more comfortable exploring the more overtly melancholic first act of each song than the strident, rafter-raising, chorus-chasing endings.

In the more than capable hands (and vocal chords) of singer-guitarist Andrew Davie we're invited to meander through a series of screw-ups, missed opportunities, drawn out apologies and earnest laments, invariably built around a plucked banjo motif that grows into a fuller spectrum of acoustic sounds that make full use of major/minor dynamics. It's effective, stirring and after a couple of listens, pretty memorable.

None of which is intended to be dismissive. Islands is a very successful debut album and songs such as the plaintive Isaac, the almost whispered Above the Clouds and the epic, mesmerising Elysium are already becoming part of people's lives, framing their lives, loves and losses.

This will do, for now. In time though it's to be hoped that Bear's Den find the confidence to fully stretch the emotional range of their songs.

Nick Churchill

www.thegranvillechambers.co.uk