Boy & Bear - Moonfire (11/08/2011)
Boy & Bear are something of your dream music success story. Declared by Mumford & Son’s to be their favourite Australian band, Boy and Bear are making the rounds all over the world, and their latest release Moonfire only promises to skyrocket them to folk fame.
The opening track Lordy May, is startlingly different to anything we’ve heard from Boy & Bear. Dave Hosking’s vocals may remain the same, but the instrumental work here is startlingly different in style and pace. Noticeably, the lyrics are grim but they compliment the slow ballads of the bands instrumentals.
With lead single Feeding Line, the band return to familiar territory. Much like Mexican Mavis and Blood To Gold, Feeding Line is what the fans have come to expect from Boy & Bear. Toe tapping, beautiful melodies and with soaring vocals, it’s one of those songs that brings on the urge for Summer road trips. The latest single Milk and Sticks is something of a ‘split’ song. The first half bears resemblance to Feeding Line but the last third changes in style, becoming somewhat darker and much more brooding, while providing full band harmonies.
One song that truly stood out for me on Moonfire, is Part Time Believer. Simple folk style guitar laced with some background electrics give the song some roots, but what truly makes this song is the lyrics, particularly the chorus. “Oh I remember sitting back on my balcony / I was ah' listening to the Rolling Stones / See I was waiting for my dad to come home from work / So I could show him all the chords that I've learned.” With what I consider to be some of the most original lyrics I’ve heard, Part Time Believer is the subtle highlight of Moonfire.
There are however, moments of the album that really do reveal several flaws. Some of the songs do sound incredibly similar and the small interlude within titled Percy Warner Park breaks the flow of the album. That's not to say it's a bad track, it's actually a very somber and intricate ballad. I just feel it's slightly misplaced amongst the rest of the album, almost like the black swan of the flock.
The highlight comes in the form of Golden Jubilee. This standout track will go down as the Boy & Bear’s live sing-along. Mix n’ mashing genres, Golden Jubilee is a stock pot of folk, rock and country all rolled into one truly brilliant track. The imagery created through House & Farm is quite beautiful. It’s incredibly slow and bears an obvious resemblance to the work of Mumford & Son’s, who have been a unmistakable influence on Moonfire. The albums closing track Big Man brings Moonfire to it’s finale with some stunning joint vocals from the entire band. It’s a moment of pure clarity.
In all honesty, Moonfire does have its flaws and it lacks that debut charm that was found on From Emperor Antarctica. Boy & Bear wanted to let go of the 'new folk' label given to them by the critics, and they have, with Moonfire resonating the bands darker side. Don’t however let this deter you from listening, Moonfire is truly a remarkable album that maturely strengthens the foundations laid in the bands earlier work through aching harmonies and delicate acoustic textures.
Luke Sutton
The opening track Lordy May, is startlingly different to anything we’ve heard from Boy & Bear. Dave Hosking’s vocals may remain the same, but the instrumental work here is startlingly different in style and pace. Noticeably, the lyrics are grim but they compliment the slow ballads of the bands instrumentals.
With lead single Feeding Line, the band return to familiar territory. Much like Mexican Mavis and Blood To Gold, Feeding Line is what the fans have come to expect from Boy & Bear. Toe tapping, beautiful melodies and with soaring vocals, it’s one of those songs that brings on the urge for Summer road trips. The latest single Milk and Sticks is something of a ‘split’ song. The first half bears resemblance to Feeding Line but the last third changes in style, becoming somewhat darker and much more brooding, while providing full band harmonies.
One song that truly stood out for me on Moonfire, is Part Time Believer. Simple folk style guitar laced with some background electrics give the song some roots, but what truly makes this song is the lyrics, particularly the chorus. “Oh I remember sitting back on my balcony / I was ah' listening to the Rolling Stones / See I was waiting for my dad to come home from work / So I could show him all the chords that I've learned.” With what I consider to be some of the most original lyrics I’ve heard, Part Time Believer is the subtle highlight of Moonfire.
There are however, moments of the album that really do reveal several flaws. Some of the songs do sound incredibly similar and the small interlude within titled Percy Warner Park breaks the flow of the album. That's not to say it's a bad track, it's actually a very somber and intricate ballad. I just feel it's slightly misplaced amongst the rest of the album, almost like the black swan of the flock.
The highlight comes in the form of Golden Jubilee. This standout track will go down as the Boy & Bear’s live sing-along. Mix n’ mashing genres, Golden Jubilee is a stock pot of folk, rock and country all rolled into one truly brilliant track. The imagery created through House & Farm is quite beautiful. It’s incredibly slow and bears an obvious resemblance to the work of Mumford & Son’s, who have been a unmistakable influence on Moonfire. The albums closing track Big Man brings Moonfire to it’s finale with some stunning joint vocals from the entire band. It’s a moment of pure clarity.
In all honesty, Moonfire does have its flaws and it lacks that debut charm that was found on From Emperor Antarctica. Boy & Bear wanted to let go of the 'new folk' label given to them by the critics, and they have, with Moonfire resonating the bands darker side. Don’t however let this deter you from listening, Moonfire is truly a remarkable album that maturely strengthens the foundations laid in the bands earlier work through aching harmonies and delicate acoustic textures.
Luke Sutton