Tag Archives: A Wish & a Tide

Folk: album review – Honey & The Bear ‘A Wish & A Tide’

Already with three albums under their belt, the popular East Anglian folk duo, Honey & The Bear, have just released a fourth. Featuring eleven original songs, A Wish & A Tide could well be their best album yet. Once more, the husband and wife team of Jon and Lucy Hart delve deep into Suffolk’s landscapes and legends for inspiration as well as exploring more personal themes of love, loss and resilience.

Lucy Hart: “This album has been 14 months in the making. At the start of 2025 Jon hit on a songwriting streak and decided it was time to start work on our fourth album… and here we are. A collection of songs with far-ranging inspiration. We feature a few myths and legends from our Suffolk home, as well as taking inspiration from nature around us and historic tales, but we’ve also taken a much more inward look with some poignant numbers that can only be written after experiencing something truly life altering. We hope you’ll find beauty in it … and maybe something you’ll find yourself connecting with.”

The song-writing is as thoughtful, perceptive and compelling as ever, the gentle melodies soar with some dazzling musicianship and the harmony vocals of Lucy and Jon are just sublime. Once again, the duo’s regular cast of supporting musicians, Toby Shaer (flutes, whistles and fiddle), Archie Churchill-Moss (accordion), Evan Carson (percussion and bodhran) and Graham Coe (cello), add some truly magical touches. A particular mention must go to Shaer’s flute-playing on tracks like ‘Close to the Edge’ which complements the duo’s vocals and melodies so perfectly, it’s almost starting to become part of their USP.

Honey & The Bear continue to impress, with every album even more of a delight than the previous one. A Wish & A Tide is no exception.

Released: 23 April 2026 https://honeyandthebear.co.uk/

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