by Ollie Rankine

Perhaps it might be deemed a little unfair, but the reputation that has labelled London folk rockers, Bear’s Den as Mumford & Sons’ younger brothers has always been somewhat challenging to avoid entirely. Having long been friends as fellow artists and both bands previously sharing a stage for an earlier Mumford & Sons tour in the US, Bear’s Den’s 2014 debut Islands also followed an undeniably similar formula to Marcus Mumford’s banjo-led quest to mainstream success. Nearly two years later,it’s still very easy to draw upon such comparisons with Bear’s Den’s second album, Red Earth & Pouring Rain, which ditches the banjo twang for a far smoother surface – also a move demonstrated by Mumford & Sons with their 2015 album Wilder Mind.

The album content itself is difficult to get excited by. Despite the emotive tone of Red Earth & Pouring Rain flowing as pleasantly as a gentle summer breeze, the melodies remain to be rigid in style and ultimately uninteresting. Themes of love and anguish coat the album’s lyrical composition but again lacks the necessary components to write an original and standout love song. The album’s lyrical habit of personifying and humanising the works of nature and the elements makes Red Earth & Pouring Rain a soundtrack to the open road, and the discovery of the unknown. By contrast, however, don’t expect any surprises in what is solely an uneventful listening experience. (5/10)

Listen to Red Earth & Pouring Rain here via Spotify, and tell us what you think below!