Boy & Bear will celebrate release of debut album with two area shows
Tuesday, August 9, Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston St., $12, 6:30
Wednesday, August 10, Knitting Factory Brooklyn, 361 Metropolitan Ave., $10-$12, 8:30
www.myspace.com/boyandbearmusic
Let’s face it: A lot of the indie folk roots rock movement is overrated and boring. There, we said it. Both on record and onstage, many of these acts are about as thrilling as watching paint dry, only less colorful. So hyping Sydney five-piece Boy & Bear by linking them with the Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Laura Marling, and even CSNY didn’t exactly sell us on them, nor did their overpraised cover of Crowded House’s “Fall at Your Feet.” (However, the Mumford & Sons comparison helped.) What sold us on them was listening to their stellar debut album, Moonfire. Produced with Joe Chiccarelli (My Morning Jacket, the Strokes) at Blackbird Studios in Nashville, the eleven-track disc has a big, epic feel and a sharp, pristine sound. From the opening drums of “Lord May” through the propulsive “Feeding Line,” the rollicking “Golden Jubilee,” and the downright Springsteen-esque “Big Man” (no, it’s not a tribute to the late Clarence Clemons), Moonfire blasts out of the speakers, occasionally getting caught up in twee harmonies but primarily thriving on high-quality songwriting by lead vocalist Dave Hosking and inventive instrumentation courtesy of Jon Hart on keyboards and mandolin. (The band also features Tim Hart on drums, Jake Tarasenko on bass, and Killian Gavin on guitar.) Formed in 2009, Boy & Bear quickly gained a following in Australia based on their exciting live shows, which brought them to SXSW earlier this year and now to New York City, where they’ll be celebrating the release of Moonfire on August 9 with Country Mice at Mercury Lounge and on August 10 with Yellowbirds and Dear Lions at Knitting Factory Brooklyn.