London's Bear's Den have played support to the likes of Mumford & Sons and Daughter, but for new album, Red Earth & Pouring Rain, the alt-folk duo cite Fleetwood Mac, Eagles and The National among their key influences.
Fresh instrumental inspiration was also in order for the album's recording, so in advance of its 22 July release, we're premiering this exclusive clip of Andrew Davie and Kevin Jones embarking on a spot of acoustic guitar shopping.
The trip took place en route to Wales' Rockfield Studios, when the band stopped off at Bristol's renowned - and awfully cosy - vintage boutique Electric Ladyland in order to find the right guitars for the record.
Davie usually records with a Martin D-15 (as heard on the Ivor Novello-nominated single Above The Clouds Of Pompeii), but as you can see above, he searched elsewhere to unearth sounds that would match the new full-length's sonic aesthetic.
"The guitar is a Vintage Kay Parlor guitar from the '60s," he reveals. "I didn't actually buy the guitar, but I borrowed it for the album from Steve Baker, who runs Electric Ladyland. He also loaned me a beautiful Levin guitar from the '50s, which sounded amazing.
"He was super-helpful and incredibly knowledgable about guitars and amps. He's a bit of a legend, and that shop is insane! So cool."
Red Earth & Pouring Rain is out on 22 July, and available to pre-order now in all formats from Music Glue. Bear's Den tour the UK in November:
1 Nov - Brighton - The Dome
2 Nov - Birmingham - O2 Institute
3 Nov - Glasgow - O2 ABC
4 Nov - Manchester - Albert Hall
5 Nov - Norwich UEA
8 Nov - London - Brixton Academy
9 Nov - Bristol - O2 Academy
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