Current: Dom Cooper / Lewis Hill / Adam Lambert
with help from: Steven Collins / Nancy Wallace / Jason Steel / Younghusband / Simon Beckett / and previously: Mr Hood / A New Shape /
Dan & Martin from Yes Cassette /
'The Straw Bear Band' have a magpie nature.
Lyrically mixing folklore, myth, history and fiction.
Musically they're just as eclectic. Ranging from
delicate acoustic song to scratchy electronica,
ending up like a Joe Meek production of Tim Buckley.
Recently their sound has taken another turn,
and live they create a kind of 'medieval Krautrock'
or 'garage-folk'. This direction has inspired
the songs for the new 'Eccentric Heart' project;
an A-Z of British eccentrics. They confess to love
concept albums such as 'SF Sorrow' and
'In An Aeroplane Over The Sea', and this
has spilled over into their writing.
The band sing with fervor and heart, carving
songs from wood and lung.
Lead singer Dom Cooper, also plays in 'The Owl
Service'. Whose debut album is out now on
Southern Records. Adam also plays in 'Younghusband'.
The band are named after a festival that takes
place in the town of Whittlesey, where founder
Dom Cooper grew up.
The first Straw Bear Band album 'From The Sea
To The Stars' was released on St Pirans day,
5th March 2007.
'From The Sea To The Stars' tells the story of a car
that turns into a boy. The boy suffers migraines,
and dreams of the stars to escape. Upon waking
he sees those stars drip and form a girl. A girl
who he spends only a short time with, before they
both turn in to a red giant.
'From The Sea To The Stars'
1:The Engine/The Heart 2:Clustered Lights Above
3:Everything Hums 4:Migraine Season
5:Dream 1 6:Comfort In The Stars
7:Falling, Dripping 8:In A Safe Place 9:Dream 2
10:The Red Giant
Available to order through Paypal from Midwich
10 tracks, 30mins long, full artwork
Buy direct from us on cd:
UK orders £5 (incl shipping)
Non UK orders £6 (incl shipping)
'On the Same label as The Owl Service, the folk
inspired wonder of The Straw Bear Band is fully
realised on "From The Sea To The Stars",
a wonderful collection of delicate acoustic songs,
that are lifted by warm vocals and an attention
to detail such as the electronic ripples that grace
the superb opener "The Engine/The Heart". Having
impressed with the opening track, the band go for
the emotional jugular with "Clustered Lights Above",
one of those songs that will linger in you memory
forever, delicate as a moonlit cloud. "Everything
Hums" has a more modern feel, with nods toward
Tuung or King Creosote, a feeling continued on
"Migraine Season" with its sinister and scratchy
electronic heart perfectly in keeping with the
headache inspired lyrics. Throughout the album
this mix of modern technology and acoustic songs
is realised with certainty and belief, creating
a wonderfully textured free-flowing collection of
songs that is damn near impossible to prize
off the stereo'.
{Terrascope's Review from Simon Lewis}
Available as a FREE download from
Midwich Records. Part of the Damned Village
download series. HAM002DL
01: The Engine, The Heart (alt ver) 02: Apple Tree
Man Demo 03: The Werewolf 04: Lunar Light
Demo 05: Fitcher's Bird 06: Sketch For A Friend
07: Treeman, Fisherman Live 08: Between
Lightning & Tired Limbs 09: She's Like A Swallow
10: The Raven & The Wren 11: Sussex Snakes
Live 12: Lyke Wake Dirge
Click here.
As well as playing some live shows, the band are
currently working on recording four albums. The new
project, called 'Eccentric Heart', will be an A-Z of British
Eccentrics. Each song, a story about a character
from history. Inventors, witches, pirates, gentry etc.
The first album is well under way.
hi dom, enjoying the new sounds. next mix perhaps include some trembling bells 'willows of carbeth' google carbeth huts. it is a wonderful place and story. peace jeremy
Well hello back, and congrats for such a messianic set the other eve up at ST. Mary's. What a multi-talented straw bear you are, what with all those lovely album designs as well as the singing.
hi dom, looks like a busy time. i picked up child ballads 1 on topic the other day. the penny dropped as i'd thought these were songs for children in spite of the themes of rape, incest and murder. i now understand that child was the collector. lol peace jeremy
hi dom, seasons greetings. still to catch up with latest mix and do my own best of 2008. it will a certain red vinyl with stunning art work. peace jeremy
And I quote... "Children draped in bear furs wait to perform New Year ritual dances in Comanesti, 300 kilometers north of Bucharest, Romania, Sunday Dec. 30 2007. In pre-Christian rural traditions, dancers wearing colored costumes or animal furs, toured from house to house in villages singing and dancing to ward off evil. "
hi dom, it's a lazy saturday. reading 'songs they never play on the radio' an account of nico's latter years. it is darkly funny. listening to cabinet of curiosity 3. did you post the track listings for these? cheers jeremy
