Interview: Bears in Trees @ 2000trees
Bears in Trees by Joe Singh
At the 2000trees Festival, we had the incredible opportunity to sit down with the vibrant and talented Bears in Trees. Fresh off their latest self-released album and a massive UK tour, the band's dynamic energy and heartfelt lyrics have left a lasting impression on fans old and new. Earlier this year, I described this group as "ferociously sincere" and I’ll continue to say it's a fitting portrayal of their music and ethos.
Having thoroughly enjoyed deciphering the intricate references in their latest work, including the 1 ½ time album replay on our drive in this morning of Trees, we were thrilled to catch up with the group again, this time In Real Life! Through a lot of laughs, we got to chat through their whirlwind year, creative process, favourite album moments, and what they’re looking forward to in their upcoming biggest US tour to date.
Thank you so much for taking time to chat with us here! We're absolutely in love with the album. You can just about get two whole listens in on the drive from home to Trees. You’ve had an exciting year with the self-released album and massive UK tour. We just managed to squeeze in the back of the Bristol gig.
Iain: The Bristol gig was crazy, it was fully sold out. I think it was the first show to sell out and it was honestly nuts and really great.
Callum: It was one of the top shows on that tour.
Bears in Trees by Joe Singh
It was really cool and so fun. Really wholesome crowd with singalongs, loved it. How has everything been since we last spoke and the album release?
Iain: Amazing! I feel like what's been great about this album is that it definitively feels like the best thing we've released so far. What's been lovely about that is putting something out that you believe in so much and seeing the people who have supported you the whole time responding in the exact same way, believing it is the most Bears In Trees release so far. It's been great. That tour was just phenomenal and going to Europe for the first time afterwards. It's been surreal and really lovely.
Nick: I've seen old fans say, "I didn't believe it would be your best album. I wanted to prove you wrong by liking your older stuff more, but goddamn it, we like your new album even better." So that's been good to feel.
Tell us more about doing the self-release. Does it feel any different having released this one yourselves?
Iain: 100%. It feels different mainly because we were in the process of being offered a major label deal and recognised that we were worth more than they could offer. We deserved to own more of what we created, rather than having someone who is ultimately only interested in the project for profit reasons. Realising that it's ours, and totally ours, spurred us on 100% to feel a lot more invested.
Callum: It’s a lot more hard work. It's been tough, and we've worked so hard. That's why it's so nice for it to be out there and to see the positive responses, because it took a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and trees to make it happen.
With the album being self-released, what does that creative freedom mean to you?
Nick: Thankfully, it didn't impact how we write our music, how we produce it, or how we wanted it to sound. It just means that because we have complete control over everything—from the day we release it to how we promote it, and how we want people to find out about it—we've been able to talk about it unfiltered. There's no barrier of entry for anyone involved, which has been amazing.
George: It also means that everything is on us, which is great. We can do anything we want, but we also have to do everything ourselves. There are two ways of looking at it: if we want it to happen, we have to make it happen. There's no support system; it's on us to make the album a success.
If there's no support system, where do you find support outside of each other?
Bears in Trees by Joe Singh
Iain: Outside of each other? As the four of us, we are such close friends and have been for so long that ultimately, with it being totally ours, we've felt a lot closer and more reliant on each other. It's been a blessing and a curse in some ways, but definitely more of a blessing.
We also have amazing managers who have helped us actualise our vision, and our touring crew has been super supportive in making everything work. We have a lovely group of people who believe in the project as much as we do and want it to succeed with our full vision at the helm.
Additionally, as Nick mentioned, our community behind us is incredible. They support us because they love the music and our creations, not because they want to give a record label a paycheck. Having them on our side has been amazing.
Easy segue, but you can see how close your friendship with each other is through your TikToks; both serious and not. How does that friendship influence the music, or does it?
Callum: The friendship is everything. I don't think Bears In Trees would exist without it; everything is built on that. I’ve known Iain since we were in primary school when we were five years old, and met everyone else through school and college. That bond is in everything we do.
We've learned how to be friends, colleagues, and bandmates. Bears In Trees is a business, and we had to learn how to handle finances and all the boring stuff. While that has changed everything, because we are friends, whenever there's a disagreement or an argument, it's just 100% love. We argue because we want the best for the project. We care about it more than anyone else can possibly care about it. Our friendship influences everything.
Iain: Everyone knows that any disagreement comes from a place of love from both parties. So, it can only get resolved in a positive way every time. It just does.
That’s beautiful. I really wanted to ask you all about your favourite moments and imagery in the album. I’ve listened to it for so many hours since we last spoke, and we’ve really enjoyed deciphering all the lyrical references. Personally, my favourite imagery is in ‘I Don’t Wanna Be Angry’, I would really love not to be so angry, but what really sticks in my mind is all the imagery around the River Styx and the little story there about death and temporariness. Really long way of asking, do you have any favourite references or imagery on the album?
Iain: I think my favourite is in ‘Injured Crow,’ and it's “They executed Socrates, he asked too many questions, Maybe this is my brain simply making the same suggestion.” That's my favourite.
Nick: My favourite is in ‘Tai Chi With My Dad,’ and it's the final line of one of the verses: “The sundial informs me I'm too early for the universe's heat death, But hopefully, I'm not too late to catch my breath and get my bike fixed.” I like that run; it's really nice.
George: These two are the lyric people. I’m the vibes and music guy, but my favourite vibe from the album is in ‘Henry Says.’ It just feels very different from anything we've done before. It's almost laid back and more chill, whereas a lot of the time, we either go heavy or push for something. This one is just like, let's sit and enjoy it, which is really fun.
The other ones are very fast aren’t they, and they're trying to fit in a ton of words. Henry Says definitely feels totally different.
George: Exactly! I don’t do lyrics; I do drums.
Iain: That reminds me of another one of my favourite lyrics from ‘Henry Says’: “Oh well, I know my love will never be enough, To sing my enemies to sleep, But I'll make snow angels out of all their bad dreams.” I love that one.
Callum: I agree with you on ‘I Don’t Wanna Be Angry.’ I think the first line of the chorus, “When I step onto that ferry, and the man demands his pay, I'll see everything was temporary, all the joy and all the pain,” is my favourite. And Iain thinks about death all the time.
Iain: Constantly.
Bears in Trees by Joe Singh
I feel like as you get close to or into your thirties, it's like the new middle age, start to panic about living life. Or not.
Iain: I'm 27. I’ve been thinking about death since I was eleven. I almost died at seven. I've been almost dying my whole life.
And on that cheery note, you just announced a massive US headline tour. When's that happening?
Nick: It starts at the end of September and runs through the whole of October.
Callum: This is our first-ever full US headline tour. We've been to the East Coast before but never headlined the West Coast. So we threw in four California shows. We planned this tour quite late in the grand scheme of things. It was tough going; we wanted to do the Pacific Northwest, but it was all booked up.
I definitely noticed that you totally skipped the Pacific Northwest.
Callum: We tried so hard to find somewhere to play.
Iain: We were meant to be doing Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland, but for all of them, the only venues available had us like tenth in line to get a show, so it just wasn't going to happen this time. We really tried.
George: We’re still doing like 21 shows, which is a good amount.
Anything in particular you're looking forward to on the tour?
Callum: Buc-ee's is always on the list. But I feel terrible when people ask, "You're going to America, what is your favourite thing?" and I respond…we love a service station with a beaver on it.
Iain: What I'm most excited about is that now we've been to America three times before, we've got a lot of friends out there, which is lovely. So now every time we go, I try and bring a very British thing for them. Last time, I brought three tins of baked beans and gave the entire touring party beans on toast, which was wonderful. This time, I've been speaking to Action/Adventure in Chicago. I'm going to bring them Bourbons, Custard Creams, and Chocolate Digestives to show them what real biscuits are like. They were like, "You mean like cookies?" No. They are definitively different, and you can't get them there. I'm going to make some cups of tea, and we're going to be dunking them.
Bears in Trees by Joe Singh
Callum: Do not eat them with gravy.
Iain: No, gosh no!
They are definitely different, definitely don’t have “biscuits” like that. But, will you get E.L.Fudge cookies, please?
Callum: We haven't had those.
Iain: What are these?
Keebler Elves, I don’t have internet so I can’t show you!
Callum: Oh I've heard of Keebler Elves but didn’t know they were cookies.
Yeah, they are cookies stuffed with fudge.
Callum: Add it to the list!
Iain: So what are we most excited for in terms of America? We're excited to try…what are they called?
Keebler Elves.
Iain: Keebler Elf cookies! Knew it first time. For the first time. That’s the most exciting thing about the USA.
Anything else to add about the US tour?
Callum: Playing the shows, honestly, is obviously going to be incredible. To headline a bunch of places is going to be a wonderful time. Hearing your songs sung in an American accent is very fun, very enjoyable. So good.
George: Never gets old.
Callum: Almost as good as the Scottish accent.
Iain: That's my favourite.
It is a bit weird listening to fellow Americans sing along to a band that sings with a strong British accent.
Callum: People try to sing along and do a weird mix of an American accent with a couple of words that have to be in a British accent.
Iain: It’s like when we go to a Front Bottoms show.
Nick: Yeah, it's like this weird halfway house.
What have you been listening to lately?
Nick: I’ve just gotten into this American emo band called Palette Knife. They're amazing. I would recommend everyone check them out.
George: The last thing I purposefully put on was the latest Cry Baby EP. We toured with them in the US a few years ago. It's a lovely EP. Very different from their old stuff, and it's wonderful.
Callum: I’ve been listening to venus & the flytraps. It's my main kind of vibe. I just discovered them fairly recently, and they've been doing really amazing things with really good songs. I’m just loving it.
Iain: I've been religiously listening to this very small hardcore album that I found recently. It's by a band called Sex Germs, and the album is called Germcore. It scratches my brain in a way that nothing else does, and I'm not ashamed to say it.
Is there anyone you are trying to catch today?
Nick: We're trying to see Turnover, who are on stage straight after us? We love that band.
Iain: I wanted to see Bob Vylan, but I think we might have to leave before they are on.
Callum: Same with Hot Milk. I wanted to see them as well. I think we might be able to catch the beginning of their set, but we've got to get back to Croydon.
Nick: 2000trees always comes through on the lineup. There are so many good bands this year.
Anything I should have asked you but didn’t?
Iain: I don’t think so. You asked us everything and more.
George: Excellent interview.
Callum: No notes!
How to Build an Ocean: Instructions by Bears In Trees is out now. Catch the band on the UK Seaside Tour and then on their much anticipated U.S tour.
