Before I say anything about the latest EP from Bear’s Den ‘Without/Within’ there is something I simply have to admit to, and I hope that I am not alone when I say this. Font man Andrew Davie literally has the sexiest voice. I could listen to him on repeat all day and never want to turn it off.
Now that I’ve acknowledged that – I am sure you’re excited to read what I think about the EP.
Well - If you’ve ever heard anything written by Davie then you’ll know full well how dark and twisty his lyrics can be. ‘Without/Within’ is no exception to that, this EP is an absolutely devastating compilation of love and loss. Words cannot describe the feelings that will progress through you when you listen to it. On this EP Davie literally bares his soul with every lyric.
The thing about Bear’s Den that is so perfect is that their melodies are both peaceful and haunting. Each track on the album will be burned into your memory with a progressive and enchanting tune. Another thing I noticed listening to ‘Without/Within’ is that the band dramatically changes their sound for each song. Despite the running and ever present heartbreak theme, the sound scapes in every track reflect something different, no two songs sound alike. It’s a fun exploration of the bands talents and represents how versatile they really are. If by some off chance you were to find a song on the EP that you didn’t like – you are sure to love the next simply because of the shift in genres.
At the end of every review I usually like to give you a song to listen out for – so that if you can’t listen to the entire EP, you can listen to the pick of the songs. I usually choose the most upbeat song, the song that is the most fun to listen to and the most memorable. However the most memorable song on ‘Without/Within’ is ‘Sophie’. This is an absolutely heart wrenching song following the struggles associated with cancer. It’s beautiful and it’s depressing and it is an absolute masterpiece. It will without a doubt bring tears to your eyes.
