The album art for Boy & Bear's Harlequin Dream

Boy & Bear

Harlequin Dream

On Harlequin Dream, Boy & Bear come into their own and make a claim for the indie folk crown once held by Fleet Foxes and the like — and do so with great success.

Harlequin Dream is Boy & Bear’s sophomore record, and it’s both fresh and catchy. I love the story behind the record: shortly after their debut release, Boy & Bear were bitten by a “creative bug” (Wikipedia’s words, not mine), and stayed in their home town of Sydney to work on it. Stuff like that is great; when the “bug” bites you, it’s often best just to get it out and do your work. And when you do that, you often make something amazing.

The proof is in the pudding here, because this is a great record. I’m often reminded of Fleet Foxes, but with a bit of an extra edge. If you live in Australia, you likely already know this record — these guys are very popular there. If you don’t know them, Boy & Bear is worth checking out this week.