Music Monday: Cat Bear Tree

Cat Bear Tree are an up and coming South London all-girl trio, featuring Zoe Konez (guitar/vocals), Claudia Mansaray (bass/vocals) and Sarah Smith (drums/vocals).  They describe their sound as 'angular, harmony-driven, indie punk-pop' with impeccable reference points including Sleater-Kinney, Warpaint and Pretty Girls Make Graves. Their energy really reminds me of the old New Cross/Angular Recordings scene (was that really nearly ten years ago?) when the likes of The Swear, The Violets, Art Brut (and later The Long Blondes) were playing out at the Paradise Bar (now Royal Albert) and other local venues.

They are based around the Camberwell area, and have played out at local venues including the New Cross Inn, The Windmill (Brixton), Cavendish Arms (Stockwell) and just last week The White Lion in Streatham. And of course they have done the obligatory Heygate Estate photo-shoot!

The band have an EP out soon, and have already had a track played by Tom Robinson on BBC 6 Music. So catch them quick... might not be playing in pubs too much longer. You can listen to some more at http://catbeartree.amazingtunes.com/  and check out their facebook page (they also tweet @catbeartree).
 

 

Update 6 February: Cat Bear Tree are playing at the Freedom: Pussy Riot Punk Prayer Commemoration Concert at the Hoxton Bar and Kitchen on 24 February, along with Midal Fall, Au Palais and Skinny Girl Diet: 'On 21 February 2012, members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot performed a "punk prayer" in a Moscow church for which they were arrested, detained for several months and eventually sentenced on 17 August 2012 to 2 years imprisonment. With two of the three members remaining imprisoned (Nadezhda “Nadya” Tolokonnikova and Maria “Masha“ Alyokhina), SHATTERJAPAN and POPULAR have collaborated to bring you a whole evening of entertainment, including people from the international music, film and political worlds, to commemorate the 1 year anniversary of the punk prayer performance and to celebrate freedom of expression'.