Bear Park have announced their four-track covers EP ‘Growl’ with their take on ‘Teenage Bomb’

Bear Park have announced details of a new covers EP titled ‘GROWL’, out via 25 Hour Convenience Store.

The Newcastle indie-pop trio’s four-track collection, which arrives on 26th September, features their interpretations of songs from across punk, dance, garage rock and metal genres. The EP will see tracks released individually across three months.

The first single, ‘Teenage Bomb’, is out now and features a posthumous guest appearance from The Damned’s Brian James. The eight-minute track is a cover of The Needles’ punk classic. “We’ve been playing it live and it goes down like a bomb — we love it,” says frontman Guy. “We asked Brian if he’d play on it when we recorded it in 2024, and he did. It’s teenage angst, brutal rhythm and a long, loud ending. We’re very proud of it. RIP to an amazing legend.”

The second single, arriving on 29th August, is a cover of HiFi Sean and Crystal Waters’ ‘Testify’. “It’s a fabulous track,” says Shay. “We couldn’t touch Crystal’s vocals, but we gave it a Bear Park hug — and it grooves.”

The EP concludes with a double A-side featuring covers of Flamin’ Groovies’ ‘Shake Some Action’ and Motörhead’s ‘Ace of Spades’. “Shake Some Action’ is a stormer,” says Adam. “It’s punk meeting rock at a crossroads — we love playing it.” On their version of ‘Ace of Spades’, Shay adds: “Lemmy wrote two versions — one heavy, one bluesy. It shows how great a songwriter he was. We tried to honour that with our own spin.”

The band, who released their debut album ‘Head of the United States’ in June 2024, explain the EP’s origins: “After the album and touring, we hadn’t had time to write new material. So we jammed out songs by other people, ones that took us out of our comfort zone. Eventually, we thought — let’s record them. These tracks deserved to be heard. It’s a Bear Park take on some brilliant songs, and we’re calling it GROWL — because that’s what bears do to greet one another.”