Bear's Den want to soundtrack your road trip with their new album

"Can you drive at night to it?" says Kev Jones from Bear's Den.

That was the one simple rule the band say they stuck to when recording their new album, Red Earth and Pouring Rain.

The west London duo - made up of Kev and Andrew Davie - have stepped up their sound for the follow-up to 2014's Islands.

There are echoes of eighties stadium rock and Fleetwood Mac and Bruce Springsteen, two acts the pair acknowledge as an influence.

"We wanted to create a record that was quite present but had a sense of nostalgia about it, sonically. Those artists are helpful to stimulate that."

For their first album, Bear's Den were a trio.

Joey Haynes left the band earlier this year but Kev and Davie - mates for a decade - say there was never any intention of replacing him.

"We have a beautiful thing," says Davie.

"Trying to find another person who would slot straight into the way we think about music is not quite as easy as it sounds. That's taken us 10 years to develop as friends."

Kev says there's a lot of "telepathy" that's built up between the two of them over the years.

"Anyway, as a touring party there's actually six of us in the band. There are four other lads that are a massive part of it as well."

The album title came about while Davie was on a "mind bogglingly brilliant" trip to Kerala in India.

It's also song number one in the track listing.

"It's from this Tamil poem I read while I was on holiday in India last year and it stayed with me. It was the first song we made for the album and when we listened back we thought it embodied everything we want to do.

"Titles can be really good. They can pull you into the song before you even hear it. Red Earth and Pouring Rain is such an intriguing title."

That inspiration came during some down time in their tour schedule - but it proved to be anything but relaxing.

"On reflection it wasn't the best mental head space to be in a totally new world but it was incredible.

"Being on the road is really addictive. Sometimes you get back from tour and you keep living like you're still on tour. You have massive amounts of energy at 10pm.

"In India, your senses are blown away from the minute you step out of the airport."

And yes, he did get the infamous "Delhi belly".

"I got it really bad on day one. Not a fun spot to be in. And I've just told you about it. Great."

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