Track x Track: Boy & Bear - Lost Dreams EP

Image credit: Maclay Heriot

Ten years on from the release of their iconic, chart-topping album Harlequin Dream, Boy & Bear have unearthed a handful of songs from those sessions, with the result their delightful new EP - the aptly titled Lost Dreams.

Showcasing the depth and diversity of their sound (from a decade ago, at that), Lost Dreams kicks off the euphoric, upper tempo jaunt Abraham, before giving way to the mellow, downtempo sounds of Mexico, and closing out with the rocking indie folk sounds of Eye Of The Canyon.

On releasing this collection of music, Boy & Bear lead singer Dave Hosking explains “The Lost Dreams EP is essentially a bunch of songs that were recorded during Harlequin Dream but never got released. It’s been fun digging through the archives and rediscovering them. They are definitely from a certain Boy & Bear era, but they are full of life and youthful exuberance and I’m glad they’ve come to see the light of day.”

Lost Dreams comes alongside the band undertaking a mammoth 10-week national tour (dates below). To celebrate the release of the EP, Dave was kind enough to take us through it, track by track:

Yep, just the three. There were other ideas floating around at that time but none of them ended up being recorded.

To be honest it feels a little strange releasing these songs now. It’s kind of like reading your diary from ten years ago. A lot has changed since then. With saying that, it’s cool these songs have been given a life outside of the archives and hopefully people enjoy them.

Abraham

To be honest I can’t remember exactly what the song was about but I was definitely into the idea of big choruses back then. I think (like everyone) I fell in love with Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ and there was something about that soul/funk guitar which I was really into, and I think a pinch of that got into the chorus of ‘Abraham’. It’s a real mash up of genres but looking back I think that’s quite adventurous.

Mexico

This song is definitely a slow burn. I was obsessed with the film ‘Into The Wild’ and in turn fell in love with the Eddie Vedder soundtrack. I think this song is a bit of a homage to the song ‘Hard Sun’. We wanted it to feel expansive and uplifting. Hopefully the listeners can feel that.

Eye of the Canyon

Strangely enough this was one of the very first demos that was written during that era. I think it has remanence of our earlier record ‘Moon Fire’. More folk, more four to the floor styled drums. Lots of harmonies. It’s really a folk pop jam and we ended up moving more towards 70’s pop as we continued to write, so it just felt like an outlier in the end. Still I think it’s got a vibe.

          - Dave Hosking, Boy & Bear

Boy & Bear's new EP Lost Dreams is out now

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