Harlequin Dream was already an excellent album; one certainly deserving of great discussion, and today that discussion leaves the page and gets the track-by-track Spotify treatment we’ve been frothing for. Boy & Bear’s Harlequin Dream is a meaty album that dishes up some trends in music that have had a powerful affect on our ears and listening habits. For starters, Australia is creating the best music-per-capita, hands down. The talent from the continent has been overflowing recently, especially in the way of these psychedelic/folky rock bands (see, Tame Impala) that have been pushing the genre to very interesting places.
Fleet Foxes addressed this sound, but the enthusiasm is like the continent’s shipment of Fleetwood Mac and Crosby, Stills and Nash records finally arrived. The band plays on the same tropes that have made these bands mainstays in our musical lexicon: beautiful, delicate vocal melodies and soft-rock acoustic guitars refreshed it for our modern ears. The first song, “Southern Sun”, unleashes a vibrant guitar piece about a minute in. Going with the song title, “Southern Sun” plays like pulling the car up just as the sunset begins to blot the sky orange and red.
Although Fleetwood Mac’s influence oozes out of every track, Boy & Bear takes shots in the form of an electronic Muse-y dance on “Back Down The Black” and a banjo line on “End of the Line” that just might be a sample from N64’s Diddy Kong Racing. However, Harlequin Dream’s shining moments come when Boy & Bear express their fears in songs like “Old Town Blues” and “Bridges” (mortality and relationship fears, respectively) and retreating to their beautiful folk-rock comfort zone. Be sure to listen to the album and commentary on Spotify today!
