We all want nostalgia in music. Hearing a song that you’ve not heard for years incites a feeling inside that is pretty hard to replicate. But somehow a four-piece from South London who go by the name of Bears in Trees released an EP full of brand new songs that feel like you’ve heard them so many times before. The EP is called I see Blue and it makes me feel 16 again.
The EP opens with Nights Like These, a powerful ballad of emotions juxtaposed with a dreamy guitar strummed foundation. The song builds at an otherworldly pace. It feels slow and calming but somehow, we still want to scream the lyrics ‘It’s Nights Like these!’ at every possible moment. Nights like This was released on July 26th and was the first single of the EP for the band who went from playing tiny pubs to playing the main stages at festivals like Marshall Live and El Dorado. The band say themselves it’s a jump that they never expected but they are certainly not complaining that it happened.
As the EP continues we are met with Life’s a Beach and Don’t Drink Coffee, two songs which perfectly represent the culmination of everything that Bears in Trees represents. The two tracks feel as if we are still rooted within the personal, intimate sound of the band but they have matured and in the process, perfectly crafted these songs. There is certainly no doubt that this EP has been professionally recorded and produced and gone are the nostalgia of days that each instrument is recorded in a bedroom.
We’ve now reached what would be described as one of the most beautifully quirky songs I have ever heard. Starting Fires is complex. Lyrically, the nonsensical themes relate to me even more than you can imagine. There is a romance in nature the boys sing about as well as the polished and sensitive instrumentals that bless our ears.
The EP still reflects on university, much like some of their previous releases, but in their own words, it’s also ‘about dumb parties and dumber decisions. It’s about losing the love of your life, and then finding a new love of your life, and then losing that love of your life five minutes later’.
The final song I am Cold, is one of their best. It is about getting better, moving past what holds you down and how life fluctuates but no matter what ‘together we can figure it out’. This song sounds passionate, it’s sprawling yet finely calibrated. Each element of this song comes together in a striking harmony to create the perfect closing track to an impressive EP from a promising young band.
I will be eagerly waiting to see what Bears in Trees will do next but I can 100% guarantee that they are destined for high places. To make sure you stay up to date with everything the band does, follow their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and you can listen to the EP down below.
