Bears in Trees

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Bears in Trees
Background information
OriginCroydon, South London, England
GenresIndie rock, emo
Years active2014–present
LabelsCounter Intuitive Records(previous)
Members
  • George Berry
  • Iain Gillespie
  • Callum Litchfield
  • Nicholas "Nick" Peters
Websitebearsintrees.com

Bears in Trees are an English indie rock band from Croydon, South London, England.[1]

The band tend to reject genre labels, preferring to call themselves a 'dirtbag boyband.'[2][3]

In October 2020, Bears in Trees announced that they had been signed by Boston label Counter Intuitive Records.[4][5] The band is no longer signed to Counter Intuitive Records and released their second album How to Build An Ocean: Instructions independently after rejecting a "major record label deal."[6]

History[edit]

Childhood friends Callum Litchfield and Iain Gillespie formed the band in 2014 after the dissolution of their previous project, The November Criminals,[7] which also included Bears in Trees guitarist Nicholas "Nick" Peters. Litchfield met George Berry, originally brought on board to mix and record their songs, at college. Berry has since also become the band's drummer.

The band's name was developed from a name generator's suggestion "Bears In Submarines" but was changed as the suggested name was too long.

Musical influences[edit]

The band cite Fall Out Boy, The Front Bottoms, Modern Baseball, The Wombats, Walk the Moon, The 1975,[8] Dodie and Cavetown[9] as their main influences, but have also referred to many others on their social media.[10]

Band members[edit]

  • George Berry – drums, percussion, and the band's producer. Berry graduated from the Academy of Contemporary Music with a first class honours degree in professional music production.
  • Iain Gillespie – vocals, bass guitar, lyrics. Iain also has a solo project releasing music under the name Pet Yeti. Their first release was a June 2023 EP called happy birthday anna !!!; they have released three other singles.
  • Callum Litchfield – vocals, ukulele, piano. Litchfield is a classically trained flautist.
  • Nick Peters – guitar and lyrics. Peters runs most of the band's social media.[11]

Discography[edit]

Albums/EPs[edit]

Let's Sleep On It (2015)[edit]

Bears in Trees released their first collection of songs on 1 September 2015. The band has since removed Let's Sleep On It from all streaming services except Bandcamp and SoundCloud, because they say the album doesn't "accurately reflect [their] sound anymore".[12] The final two songs on the album are listed on Bandcamp as bonus tracks.

Track listing:[13]

No.TitleLength
1."Away with the Best of the Rest of the Year"03:14
2."Less Than Hello"03:03
3."Vampires"03:01
4."Jumbo Jet"02:22
5."Track 4+1"04:04
6."Good Hustle, Kids"03:55
7."Gravity"02:21
8."Koalas"03:44
9."We'll Get 'Em Next Time (Good Hustle Kids Cover)"03:39
10."Always Falling (Gravity Cover)"02:35
Total length:30:30

Just Five More Minutes (2017)[edit]

Bears in Trees released their debut album, Just Five More Minutes, on 14 August 2017.[14] Tracks 1–11 were produced by Berry, and track 12 by Absolex. Joe Matthews provided the trumpet for this album.[15]

Bears in Trees call their fans "sandboxes", a reference to the song "The Sandbox One". This has also resulted in the Bears in Trees Discord server being named the Sandbox. "Good Rhymes for Bad Times" was the album's pre-release single.

Track listing:[16]

No.TitleLength
1."The 411"04:10
2."4AM"03:41
3."Always Sunny in South London"02:54
4."Flower Power! (The Leading Cause of Gum Disease)"03:35
5."The Sandbox One"04:18
6."Kent Has a Lot of Fields, Pt. 3"02:28
7."Not Santa Monica"03:51
8."Good Rhymes for Bad Times"03:39
9."The Musical"03:06
10."Better Days for Better Headaches (Musical Reprise)"02:54
11."Give 'em One of These (411 Reprise)"04:12
12."4AM (Absolex Remix)"03:51
Total length:42:39

Bits n' Pieces (2017)[edit]

This EP was released on 30 December 2017. Mikey Tree of deafpony provided the guitar on "Alone in the Basement".[17] "Fyaaa" is only available on Bandcamp.

Track listing:[18]

No.TitleLength
1."Empty Space"01:17
2."AlphaBeatical"01:15
3."Inside Out"00:51
4."I Don't Know"00:39
5."I Have a Headache"01:10
6."Fyaaa"00:39
7."Alone in the Basement"02:02
8."We're Just The Same"00:19
9."Getting a Call From Alfred"00:56
10."Push Ups (Two)"01:48
Total length:10:56

I See Blue (2019)[edit]

I See Blue was released on 23 August 2019. This EP once again reflects upon the band's time at university. The song 'I Am Cold' contains repeated references to Catch-22, Peters' favourite book.[19]

Track listing:[20]

No.TitleLength
1."Nights Like These"02:58
2."Life's A Beach"02:40
3."Don't Drink Coffee"01:32
4."Starting Fires"02:51
5."I Am Cold"03:37
Total length:13:38

I Want To Feel Chaotic (2020)[edit]

All the songs on the I Want To Feel Chaotic EP were released individually as singles before the EP's complete release on 5 June 2020. This EP is the band's first release under the Counter Intuitive label.[21] The band refers to this period of single releases as the I Want To Feel Chaotic era.[22] The band have said that this EP is about "coming to terms with the worst parts of your personality—with the things that scare you, with the things that keep you awake at night… with the deaths of your friends, and the slow acceptance that you are deserving of love."[23] "Reverberate" also contains references to Catch-22.[24]

Track listing:[25]

No.TitleLength
1."Ramblings of a Lunatic" (Single release 1 January 2020)03:32
2."Permanence" (Single release 22 January 2020)03:03
3."Rust" (Single release 5 March 2020)02:45
4."Cobwebs" (Single release 17 April 2020)03:13
5."Reverberate" (Single release 29 May 2020)03:56
Total length:16:29

Keep Me Safe (2020)[edit]

As with companion EP I Want To Feel Chaotic, the Keep Me Safe EP heralded a new era for Bears in Trees. Each song was released individually as a single before the EP's complete release on 11 December 2020 with Counter Intuitive.

Track listing:[26]

No.TitleLength
1."It Gets Better" (Single release 4 September 2020)03:25
2."Seaside" (Single release 7 October 2020)03:19
3."Ibuprofen" (Single release 6 November 2020)03:20
4."Laugh / Cry" (Single release 11 December 2020)03:32
Total length:13:36

Flower Through Concrete (2021)[edit]

Flower Through Concrete was released on 14 May 2021 with Counter Intuitive. The band's first professionally produced music video, for "Fresh Concrete", was directed by Rakesh Jaitly and was released on 17 May 2021.[27]

Track listing:[28]

No.TitleLength
1."Fresh Concrete"2:30
2."Evergreen"2:53
Total length:5:23

and everybody else smiled back (2021)[edit]

Bears in Trees announced their first studio album under Counter Intuitive Records, and everybody else smiled back, on 16 September 2021. The album was released on 19 November.[29][30] The lead single, "Great Heights", was also released on 16 September. The next single, "I'm Doing Push Ups", was released on 8 October. The album's third and final single, "Little Cellist", was released on 5 November. Accompanying videos, also directed by Jaitly, were uploaded on 18 September and 9 October, respectively.[31][32] The "Little Cellist" video was released on 6 November; unlike the band's previous videos, it was directed by Jamie Benyon. It is also their first video not to show the band.[33] The video for "Heaven Sent Is A Coffee Cup", directed and produced by Stefan Gutierrez Yildirim, was released on 9 December. "Mossy Cobblestone" also includes a reference to Catch-22, with the lyric "I'll live forever or die in the attempt."

No.TitleLength
1.""Cut Corners on Short Walks""3:35
2.""I'm Doing Push Ups""3:23
3.""Baggy Hoodies""3:55
4.""Heaven Sent is a Coffee Cup""2:52
5.""Keep It Easy""2:08
6.""Array of Light""3:34
7.""Mossy Cobblestone""1:47
8.""Confidant""2:58
9.""Little Cellist""3:30
10.""Sun Machine""3:28
11.""Great Heights""2:52
12.""If I Just Ask Politely""3:16
13.""Klimt Painting""2:43
Total length:40:16

Every Moonbeam, Every Feverdream (2022)[edit]

Every Moonbeam, Every Feverdream is an EP that was released on 11 November 2022.[34] The first single, "Kind Love", was released on 7 October 2022, accompanied by a video later that day.[35][36] The second single, "Doing This Again!", was released on 28 October 2022,[37] also with a video uploaded to YouTube that day.[38] The description of the video mentions that the band opted to record and edit it themselves on a compact camera reminiscent of their earlier music videos, as opposed to the more professional music videos they've had since the release of Fresh Concrete.[39] The EP was inspired by the film Tick, Tick... Boom!. The band described the EP as being about "walks under street lamps and goodbyes and nights spent quiet after days that won't end, moonlight, and those days where you wish you didn't have a body."[40]

Track listing:[41]

No.TitleLength
1."Feel So Empty"2:59
2."Kind Love"2:27
3."Simply Won't Believe It"3:07
4."Doing This Again!"3:02
Total length:11:35

before you got here (2023)[edit]

before you got here was released on 27 June 2023 as an ep of "reworked songs from their adolescence".[42] This is their only album to be required to be bought to listen to, excluding any Patreon-only songs. Purchasing the album also entered the buyer into a raffle for memorabilia from Bears in Trees past including lifetime tickets, an and everybody else smiled back tour backdrop, and signed lyric sheets among others.[43]

Track listing:[44]

No.TitleLength
1."4am (reimagined)"3:25
2."Vampires (reimagined)"2:20
3."Jumbo Jet (reimagined)"2:40
4."I Am Cold (reimagined)"3:17
Total length:11:42

How To Build An Ocean: Instructions (2024)[edit]

"Things That Look Like Mistakes" was released on January 24 2024 and is the first single of the band's second studio album How To Build An Ocean: Instructions which was released on 26 April 2024. Bears in Trees released two more singles after: "Hot Chocolate" on February 15 2024 and "I Wanna Feel Calm" on March 13 2024.[45] The final single "We Don't Speak Anymore" was released on 10 April 2024. The album was accompanied by a UK/EU tour with The Happy Fits.[46] The album also marked the band's first appearance in the UK charts reaching a peak position of 20 in the album sales chart aswell as a peak position of 6 in the independent albums chart[32]

Track listing:[47]

No.TitleLength
1."Your Favourite Coat"2:30
2."Things That Look Like Mistakes"2:28
3."Injured Crow"3:32
4."I Can't See Anything I Don't Like About You"3:24
5."All You Get is Confetti"4:00
6."Tai Chi With My Dad"2:32
7."I Wanna Feel Calm"3:16
8."Henry Says"3:42
9."Hot Chocolate"2:33
10."Nothing Cures Melancholy Like Looking at Maps"2:58
11."We Don't Speak Anymore"2:55
12."I Don't Wanna Be Angry"3:08
Total length:37:02

Singles[edit]

"Fly Out To Alaska" (2018)[edit]

Bears in Trees recorded the song, released as a single on 8 November 2018, in the AudioHeart Studios in Vienna.[48] The video was also filmed during the band's time in Vienna.[49] Austrian slang is included in a call-and-response section of the song; Nah oida! Leiwand! roughly translates to "hey man! It's cool!"[50]

"Sitting Pretty" (2019)[edit]

"Sitting Pretty" was released on 11 February 2019.[51]

"Precipitation" (2022)[edit]

"Precipitation" was released on 2 June 2022.[52]

"No Point Pretending (Song for Tour)" (2023)[edit]

"No Point Pretending" was released on 7 March 2023, as a collaboration with NOAHFINNCE.[53]

"Cassiopeia" (2023)[edit]

“Cassiopeia" was released on 31 August 2023. Its name and album cover refer to the constellation of the same name, Cassiopeia.

"Apathy Is Boring" (2023)[edit]

"Apathy Is Boring" was released on September 29, 2023. [54] Its album cover shows the floorplan of a small room, containing a sofa, and a table from above, upon a jagged blue circle. It is presented as a scientific diagram, similar to their previous song, "Cassiopeia". "Cassiopeia" and "Apathy Is Boring" were both released independently, as compared to their other songs, released under Counter Intuitive Records.[55]

"Bart's Bike" (2023)

"Bart's Bike" was released on December 1, 2023. [56]The songs release has been described as an end of an era by the band. This is reflected in the cover art; a collage of photos of the band, spanning across the past eight years.

Tours[edit]

UK tours[edit]

Bears in Trees had their debut UK tour in mid-2021. The tour was originally due to take place in December 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, Bears in Trees have also toured the UK with NOAHFINNCE,[57] and had their second UK tour in February 2022 with support from Lucy Blue, who toured alongside them.[58] Bears in Trees also played a number of festivals in summer 2022,[59] headlining many. They embarked on their third UK tour, "The Moonbeam Tour", in November 2022, with support from Misery Kids and Me Rex. They played "the smallest UK shows [they'll] play in a long time."[60] Bears in Trees opened for You Me at Six on their "Truth Decay Tour" in February 2023, alongside Waterparks and The Maine.[61] 9On 28 September 2023, Bears in Trees appeared as a "super secret guest" at a headlining show by Good Kid.[62] Bears in trees are currently on a UK/EU tour co-headlining with The Happy Fits visiting Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds Bristol and London on the UK section of the tour, where Bears in trees are headlining. The European leg of the tour, which is being headlined by the Happy Fits, will go to Rotterdam, Ultrecht, Berlin, Hamburg, Köln and Antwerp. Lexie Carroll also supported for the UK tour dates as the opening act. [63]

North American tours[edit]

Bears in Trees went on their first US tour in March 2022, when they supported Just Friends.[64]@bearsintrees (1 March 2022). "usa tour supportin @JFCREWBABY starts this friday d:~}". Twitter. Retrieved 21 February 2023.</ref> They played their first east coast North American headline tour, "The Feverdream Tour", in November and December 2022. The first show was performed in Toronto, and it was the only Canadian show of the tour. They were supported by Chase Petra and Cry Baby.[65] They supported NOAHFINNCE in April 2023.[66]

European tours[edit]

The band are supporting the The Happy Fits on their European tour from 24 April to 10 May[67] and will be the first time they have toured in Europe. Walking on Rivers are also supporting for the European tour.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Croydon band 'Bears in Trees' set to release first studio album this month". Swlondoner.co.uk. 8 November 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Bears in Trees on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  3. ^ Torres, Maya (19 March 2022). "From TikTok to tour bus: Bears in Trees". Nique.net. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  4. ^ Bears in Trees (28 October 2020). "Announcement Tweet". Twitter. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Counter Intuitive Records". Counter Intuitive Records. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  6. ^ "TikTok - Make Your Day". Tiktok.com. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  7. ^ https://www.facebook.com/187899801393646/posts/355443494639275/?app=fbl Facebook Post from 12 Feb 2015, Taken 4 May 2024
  8. ^ Fresa, Carina (1 February 2020). "Bears in Trees – A Hot Up and Coming Band in the UK". Her Campus. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  9. ^ Bears in Trees (29 November 2020). "Instagram post". Instagram. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  10. ^ Bears in Trees. "Official TikTok". TikTok. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference :11 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Anonymous asked: why isn't Let's Sleep On It on Spotify anymore?". Bearsintreesofficial.tumblr.com. June 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  13. ^ Bears in Trees. "Let's Sleep On It". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  14. ^ "Just Five More Minutes". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference :15 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ https://open.spotify.com/album/087ZP2hFmEAAsRz43jGwOL?si=qO_Il4lAQg69sD8RiJoSfA
  17. ^ Bears in Trees. "Bits n' Pieces". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference :18 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Bears in Trees. "I Am Cold lyrics". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 25 August 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  20. ^ Bears in Trees. "I See Blue". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  21. ^ Bears in Trees. "I Want To Feel Chaotic". Counterintuitiverecords.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  22. ^ Matuson, Lexi (2 March 2020). "The Vulnerability, Chaos, and Intimacy of the New Bears In Trees Era". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  23. ^ "Review: Bears In Trees – "Permanence"". Ascribe Magazine. 28 March 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Bears in Trees – Reverberate". Genius.com. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  25. ^ "I Want To Feel Chaotic, by Bears In Trees". Bearsintreesofficial.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  26. ^ Bears in Trees. "Keep Me Safe". Bearsintreesofficial.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  27. ^ "Fresh Concrete (Official Music Video)". Retrieved 19 September 2021 – via YouTube.
  28. ^ "Flower Through Concrete by Bears in Trees". Genius. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  29. ^ "ALBUM REVIEW: and everybody else smiled back". Distortedsoundmag.com. 17 November 2021.
  30. ^ https://open.spotify.com/album/4YDxrluNqhqrhcJ0ZkgfXc?si=WMVFzFiBTmafz8znv5iJLw
  31. ^ Bears in Trees. "Bears in Trees – Great Heights (Official Music Video)". Retrieved 19 September 2021 – via YouTube.
  32. ^ a b I'm Doing Push Ups (Official Music Video), retrieved 9 October 2021
  33. ^ Bears in Trees (6 November 2021). "Bears in Trees – Little Cellist (Official Music Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  34. ^ @bearsintrees (7 October 2022). "ok, let's do this properly. OUR NEW EP 'EVERY MOONBEAM EVERY FEVERDREAM' IS OUT NOVEMBER 11TH VIA @CIRecs". Twitter. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  35. ^ @bearsintrees (6 October 2022). "thanks for sticking around! our new single, kind love, is out everywhere at midnight tonight". Twitter. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  36. ^ Heasley, Ellis (7 October 2022). "Bears In Trees release new music video for 'Kind Love'". Distortedsoundmag.com. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  37. ^ @bearsintrees (24 October 2022). "NEW SINGLE 'DOING THIS AGAIN!' DROPS EVERYWHERE THIS FRIDAY". Twitter. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  38. ^ "Doing This Again! (Official Music Video)" – via YouTube.
  39. ^ Cite error: The named reference :37 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  40. ^ "Bears In Trees – Every Moonbeam, Every Feverdream EP: CD/Tape (Pre-Ord". Counterintuitiveuk.awesomedistro.com. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  41. ^ "Every Moonbeam, Every Feverdream". Bearsintreesofficial.bandcamp.com. 28 October 2022.
  42. ^ "Discord – A New Way to Chat with Friends & Communities". Discord.com. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  43. ^ "Before You Got Here". Megafuntimeraffle.bearsintrees.com. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  44. ^ Cite error: The named reference 42/Before You Got Here was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  45. ^ Cite error: The named reference :43 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  46. ^ "Bears in Trees upcoming events - Google Search". Google.com.
  47. ^ [1] [dead link]
  48. ^ Bears in Trees. "Fly Out To Alaska". Web.archive.orgp. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  49. ^ Bears in Trees (8 November 2018). "Fly Out To Alaska (Official Music Video)". Retrieved 13 December 2020 – via YouTube.
  50. ^ Bears in Trees. "Fly Out To Alaska lyrics". Genius.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  51. ^ "Sitting Pretty". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  52. ^ "Bears in Trees – Precipitation". Genius.com. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  53. ^ "NOAHFINNCE has teamed up with Bears In Trees for a new single". Upsetmagazine.com. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  54. ^ "Apathy is Boring" – via YouTube.
  55. ^ "Bears in Trees". Bearsintreesofficial.tumblr.com.
  56. ^ "Bears in Trees – Bart's Bike". Genius.com. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  57. ^ "NOAHFINNCE Tour 2021, Official Concert Tickets from MyTicket.co.uk". MyTicket.co.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  58. ^ Bears in Trees [@bearsintrees] (21 January 2022). "VERY EXCITED TO WELCOME @lucyblue TO THE UK TOUR NEXT MONTH!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  59. ^ "Live". Bears in Trees. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  60. ^ Bears in Trees [@bearsintrees] (30 August 2022). "🌠BEARS IN TREES PRESENT🌠" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  61. ^ "You Me At Six announce 2023 UK headline tour". NME. 27 July 2022.
  62. ^ Good Kid [@goodkidband] (27 September 2023). "✨🐻 Secret Guest Revealed 🐻✨" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  63. ^ "Bears in Trees Tour Dates". Bearsintrees.com. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  64. ^ Cite error: The named reference :62 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  65. ^ Cite error: The named reference :63 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  66. ^ "@bearsintrees". Twitter. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  67. ^ "Bears in Trees Tour Dates". Bearsintrees.com. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
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