“It’s just one of those times where you don’t really know what to do: nothing’s…it’s not…you know, the album comes out and then it’s just out! It’s just there!”
Speaking on the eve of the release of Boy & Bear’s third LP Limit Of Love, drummer Tim Hart’s nerves are understandable; but certainly not necessary. After a chaotic 2014 that saw the Sydney five-piece play 170 shows across three continents, they are in fine form as they head in a slightly different – a more developed – direction for record three.
Recorded in England at Peter Gabriel’s manor house studio buried in the leafy countryside of Wiltshire, Boy & Bear teamed up with legendary producer Ethan Johns. The name behind records from acts like Paul McCartney, Kings Of Leon, Rufus Wainwright and Crowded House, it was Laura Marling – who has worked with Johns on all but two of her records – who introduced him to the group.
What followed has been nothing short of a love story: Boy & Bear seem to have found a perfect fit in Ethan, and if nothing else have created a record that is far more open and exposed than the previous two. Tracked live-to-tape, vocals and all, in the studio, the idiosyncrasies and nuances we’re now allowed to hear have revealed a more human side to the five-time ARIA winners.
[include_post id=”412932″]“He’s one of those guys that has so much talent, so much experience and so many stories to tell, but it’s the way he uses that knowledge and history to be so encouraging in the studio and that’s something that was so crucial to our recording,” Tim gushes, adding that his solo material has certainly benefited after working with Johns.
“I can definitely see us going back and working with Ethan again, and learning a lot more stuff. The way he approaches songs is pretty unique; I think it’s really rare to have someone that’s so good as a producer but also such a great musician.”
As well as undertaking the daunting task of a live recording, the record-writing duties were split far more evenly this time around. Rather than writing the songs before bringing them into the band room to develop, singer and songwriter Dave Hosking would sometimes only arrive with a flicker of an idea, and the five worked to essentially build the record from scratch together.
Though Boy & Bear has always been a fairly collaborative band, helped in no small part by many multi-instrumentalist members, making the songwriting a more involved process is certainly audible. Where the focus was once the poetic, nostalgic lyrics, this record seems to be more driven by the melodies and guitars underneath – less layered thanks to the live element, but with far more strength and power behind them now.
“The real positive about that is that it took the pressure off Dave, who had to always come up with the initial ideas – but this allowed him to approach things slightly differently melodically, instead of worrying about all the chords, he could worry about melody.” Tim, one of two Hart brothers in the group, explains.
“Songs like ‘Walk The Wire’ and ‘Showdown’ are tracks that really had their genesis in the bandroom – but it wasn’t really intentional! The songs we were writing dictated the process, rather than the other way round – and I think the only way we could have done that was because of how collaborative we’ve always been.”
It certainly wasn’t all hands on deck every step of the way, then.
“I’m pretty sure if we’d done that it would end up sounding like… Aretha Franklin crossed with Simon and Garfunkel!” he laughs.
One of the more collaborative tracks, ‘Walk The Wire’, became the album’s lead single – the first sign of new music from the band in two years. Along with the change of pace in the recorded music, ‘Walk The Wire’ saw a video unlike Boy & Bear had ever done before. It’s one big piss-take, really: a setting on the moon, a guitarist’s face burnt to smithereens and naked animatronic men fornicating doesn’t even begin to cover the action – certainly a far cry from the band’s past videos, which include ‘Boy & Bear stand on a mountain and look pensive’, ‘Boy & Bear lie in a dollhouse and look pensive’ and ‘Boy & Bear drive through the bush and look pensive’.
“Oh my gosh, I know!” Tim laughs.
[include_post id=”459736″]“We’d never really enjoyed video clips before, but we just loved working with the guys at Oh Yeah Wow. It takes a shot at us as musicians; that over-serious thing. That’s never been us, but that’s how we’ve seemed to be portrayed when you have these people who have this grand vision. They base it off what they assume you’re like – and that’s a self-perpetuating cycle. But this time they wanted to really change it up, and now people are like ‘what the fuck is happening?!’ – but it was really fun to make.”
Alongside singles, videos and the new record comes the start of another crazy touring period for the group – even the day before the record is released, they are on their way to rehearsal. Creating an album live, Tim says, has its benefits – you’re pretty much creating your live set simultaneously.
“They really are the biggest rooms we’ve done yet, and it’s a testament to how loyal Australian fans are. It’s amazing that they haven’t given up on us yet”“We don’t have to try to fit the proverbial square peg into the round hole – it works live because it was made live; that’s how it’s done.
“We’re not perfect, and I think doing so many shows last year got us to a better level of playing, but we’re still not perfect – I love hearing that in the record, and it proves that we really can go straight from the rehearsal to the studio. When we get into the rehearsal room, it’s the same process as in the studio – and that gives you a lot of confidence; I’m super excited to play these songs live because of it.
After a short promotional tour of Europe and the UK, they hit Australian shores once more for what is their biggest tour ever – venues like Hordern Pavilion and Festival Hall huge steps up for five guys who just three years ago were playing venues holding a couple of hundred punters.
“They really are the biggest rooms we’ve done yet, and it’s a testament to how loyal Australian fans are. It’s amazing that they haven’t given up on us yet – we’re still here!”
Limit Of Love is out now.
‘Limit Of Love’ Tour Dates
22 JAN | ODEON THEATRE, HOBART
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23 JAN | FESTIVAL HALL, MELBOURNE
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29 JAN | THEBARTON THEATRE, ADELAIDE
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30 JAN | RED HILL AUDITORIUM, PERTH
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12 FEB | HORDERN PAVILION, SYDNEY NSW
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SAT 13 FEB | RIVERSTAGE, BRISBANE QLD
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