Featuring East Anglian husband and wife duo Lucy and Jon Hart, Honey and the Bear return on 3rd November with their third album, ‘Away Beyond the Fret‘. Their last album, Journey Through The Roke (2021), was a Featured Album of the Month on Folk Radio.
Once again, they had me reaching for Robert MacFarlane’s Landmarks book, an invaluable source for place-words used to describe the rich and varied landscape of Britain and Ireland. ‘Roke’, the term used in their 2021 album title, describes a fog that rises in the evenings off marshes and water meadows, while the ‘Fret’ in the title of their new album is an eastern and southern England term used to describe a mist or fog coming in from the sea. It’s this kind of attention to detail that lends their albums a certain magic before you’ve even pressed play; and the artwork (by Lucy Hart – Silverlace Creative) is quite exceptional as well.
The music of Honey and the Bear is known for being steeped in the folklore, landscape and history of Suffolk. While their new album does gather tales from their home turf, they also look much further afield; from songs about a female, British-born astronomer to a Salvadoran fisherman cast adrift. The album has been described as their most personal, a lot of which may be down to their changing circumstances – they are now a family, following the arrival of their daughter Gracie in 2021.
Family and a feminine thread weave through some of the songs, including the album opener, Dear Grandmother, a beautifully arranged, thought-provoking song inspired by motherhood, roots and biological connection, for which we have the pleasure of sharing their video below.
They tell us:
Dear Grandmother – an upbeat, life-affirming song that explores the deep biological connection of three generations of women – daughters, mothers and grandmothers.
At 20 weeks, a female foetus will have a fully developed reproductive system. As a mother, that means 6 million eggs, one or more of which will become your potential future grandchildren, are right there inside your womb. Incredible, isn’t it? This song explores the deep biological connection between daughters, mothers and grandmothers.
We’ll be bringing you more on the album next week; in the meantime, pre-order the album and try and get to see them live (dates and links below).
Guesting on the album, as on the previous releases, are four talented members of Sam Kelly’s The Lost Boys band -multi-instrumentalist Toby Shaer on whistle, flute, harmonium, viola and fiddle, Evan Carson on bodhran, drums and percussion, Archie Churchill-Moss on diatonic accordion and Graham Coe on cello throughout. Fellow singer-songwriter Kelly Bayfield adds harmony vocals on some tracks, while a Suffolk choir adds soaring vocals to one of the final songs.
Honey and the Bear Tour Dates
4th November – Album Launch Event @ Snape Maltings, Suffolk
11th November – Grayshott Village Hall, Nr. HINDHEAD, Surrey
12th November – Tetbury Goods Shed Arts Centre, Gloucestershire
15th November – J2 Cambridge Junction, Cambridge
17th November – The Live Room Saltaire, Saltaire, Shipley, W. Yorkshire
19th November – Nettleham Live, Nettleham Village Hall, Lincolnshire
2nd December – Swanton Novers Village Hall, Melton Constable, Norfolk
6th December – Costa Winter Festival, Hayling Island, Hampshire
14th January – UK West Coast Folk Festival, Winter Gardens, Blackpool
Tickets and details: https://honeyandthebear.co.uk/gigs/
Pre-order ‘Away Beyond the Fret‘ (Signed CD/Download) – https://honeyandthebear.co.uk/product/away-beyond-the-fret-pre-order-album-cd-or-digital/