Debut EP ‘With Emperor Antarctica’ is a fantastic five track release available in the UK on vinyl and from iTunes.  Kellian states that ‘We released the EP back in Australia in May, and we’ve been delighted with the response. It hasn’t been released on CD over here in order to keep it limited’. Despite the restricted availability of the EP, Boy & Bear’s UK and Ireland tour has been a huge success. Tim explains, ‘These gigs have been phenomenal. We’re not quite sure how people know about us but everyone has been so kind. We’ve had Andrew Davie on tour with us who is a great singer songwriter and he’s been amazing. It’s been a dream come true!’
Still relatively youthful in band years, Boy & Bear only formed in 2009. The quintet went to university with each other, but all had their own bands. After several months of supporting each other’s bands and sharing the same stage Boy & Bear were born. Many articles and biographies of Boy & Bear state that this history has created a band of five front men, but Tim was quick to dispel that myth ‘It’s funny, that has really got out of proportion! There’s actually three front men: Killian, myself and Dave, but every new article seems to add another front man so that now all five of us are. It’s not true!’
With three ’front men’ in the band, it could be easy for arguments and disagreement to rise. Tim, however, feels that is not the case ‘It works really well, songwriting wise everyone is involved. We all come from slightly different musical backgrounds but there’s a nice equilibrium with the way we write. There’s a real respect for each other’s opinions but there is also a real honesty which allows us to get the best possible result.’ Despite the toe tapping melodies the songs on ‘With Emperor Antarctica’ have a dark undertone to them, such as Blood to Gold with the lyrics ‘And if this blood don’t turn to gold / I think I’m doomed’. Tim explains ‘Yeah, the lyrics are written by Dave. Some of the songs are quite dark and there’s a real theme throughout the EP, but there’s also a lighter tinge to it too. It almost balances itself out!’
Being an Australian band trying to make it in the UK is not easy. This is Boy & Bear’s second trip to our shores in 2010 and, having all quit their ‘proper’ jobs back home a year ago, it shows a real belief in what they do. ‘It takes a little bit of ambition and a little bit of creativity because you know that if you don’t have a go then it will always be in the back of your mind, but you know that if you do have a go you could easily fall on your arse. We push at it a little bit each day and just hope that this can be sustainable.’ So far, so good for the band. Their show at The Luminaire is absolutely rammed a

nd members of the crowd include Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling and Zane Lowe. Not bad, eh?
Perhaps inevitably, Boy & Bear have been compared to bands such as Fleet Foxes and Mumford and Sons due to their crisp vocals. Tim is philosophical about the comparisons ‘Anytime you have a new act, journalists like to compare you to someone else so they can get across what you sound like. We feel very humbled to be compared to those bands. We might not always see where those comparisons come from whereas other times it’s quite obvious. The more established we become the more that sort of thing will come away. The artists that we draw influences from such as Neil Young, Paul Simon and Bob Dylan are the same artists that Mumfords’ and Fleet Foxes draw from.’ Killian adds ‘You hear about these comparisons a lot but at the end of the day we’re just writing songs that we enjoy and that we love. Songs that will continue to develop and evolve into different genres depending on where we are at during the time we’re writing.’ So how would they describe themselves? Killian is quick to answer, stating that ‘Well, I wouldn’t classify us as a folk band. I think the way we’re moving has elements of folk, rock, indie.. we just write songs we’re passionate about’
Throughout the interview it is clear to see that Boy & Bear love what they do. The band have a refreshing approach to music as they simply enjoy writing and playing music. Not once do they mention money, and Tim states that they just want to be ‘sustainable’.
When asked about the debut album, Killian excitedly explains ‘We’re working on recording a full length. We’ll be in the studio in February and the songs are definitely different. They’ve got wider influences and I think it will be different from the EP.’ Tim adds, ‘Absolutely. We want our sound to evolve but to keep signifiers through all of our songs so that people know it’s us’. So, with the debut album due out early summer 2011 we can expect a slight change in direction from ‘With Emperor Antarctica’. Will this mean we can expect to see them back in the UK for the festival season? ‘Hopefully, yes! I should think so. Our love at the moment is for the UK and Australia, so that’s where we want to play our gigs as we’ve been well received here.’ If tonight’s exceptional performance and buzzing crowd reaction is anything to go by, then this love affair is just getting started.
 

Francesca Baker

On the opposite side of the world there exists a parallel universe, the folk fashion of Mumford & Sons et al finding a mirror in bands such as Gypsy & The Cat and Boy & Bear, Boy & Bear even wearing flat caps in their promo shots. Injecting some Australian sunshine into what is often considered a good old English country garden genre, With Emperor Antarctica, is a collection of five short and sweet, yet grandly sonic swathes of folk from Boy & Bear. Propulsive riffs stop with precisely calculated rhythms to create moments of suspense, each imaginative shift capturing the ear. The ethereal ‘Mexican Mavis’ is hauntingly repetitive, and whoozy echoes on ‘Rabbit Song’ make the soul shiver and mouth smile like waves lapping at the toes. Like a journal of summer doodles,  ‘With Emperor Antarctica’ does not develop into an entirety, but is a perfect swoonsome and stumbling whole in itself.

Wolf Gang – Electro indie pop genius. Recent single ‘Lions in Cages’ is an enjoyable, upbeat track that MGMT would be proud of. Wolf Gang AKA Max McElligott has a host of dates coming up in February and March, including a tour supporting popular Kiwi’s The Naked and Famous.

Yuck – Formed out of the ashes of the beautiful Cajun Dance Party, Yuck are a different animal altogether. The band fuse together a blend of grunge and shoegaze that creates a raw, scuzzy but downright fantastic sound. Singles Georgia and Rubber are two very different track which increases anticipation about the finished album, set for release in 2011. This promises to be a huge year for Yuck.
Trophy Wife – Trophy Wife became a internet buzz band in the latter part of 2010 with the exceptional single ‘Microlite’. The trio are set to build on this momentum throughout 2011 by seeing in the year playing with fellow Oxfordians, and influence, Foals at The Forum in London. Foals’ ‘Total Life Forever’ was one of the albums of 2010: don’t be surprised if Trophy Wife’s debut album gets similar plaudits.

Boy & Bear – Australian band Boy & Bear are the sort of band that leave you standing in awe, with the hairs on the back of your neck raised and a tingle down your spine. Debut EP ‘With Emperor Antarctica’ is an exceptional 5 track collection of indie folk. Having supported Laura Marling and Mumford and Sons in 2010, Boy & Bear are set to return to UK shores in the middle of 2011 with a debut album and a set of festival appearances. Don’t miss them.
Dry The River – In a similar vein to Boy & Bear, Dry The River produce beautiful songs with sing a long qualities. Songs such as ‘New Ceremony’ and ‘Family Tree’ start slowly and build in to a bubbling pace. 2011 looks likely to be a promising year for the London based quintet.
Cosmo Jarvis – “Yo-ho Sebastian, Let’s go far away, Somewhere where the captain won’t be mad. Yo-ho Sebastian, I want to love you good. We deserve much better than we’ve had” You need to be either a genius or a fool to write a song called ‘Gay Pirates’ about a homosexual pirate who loves fellow swashbuckler Sebastian. With over 540,000 views on YouTube consensus suggests that Cosmo Jarvis is. A genius, not a homosexual pirate.

Ross and the Wrongens – Ross has to be one of the nicest guys in the music business. Events conspired against Ross that meant the usual wrongens were unable to join him on stage to headline the November It’s All Happening gig. Not to be deterred, Ross was joined on stage by a part time wrongen and cracked out a fantastic set of upbeat indie pop. If Ross and the Wrongens are at a venue near you in 2011 then you must see them: they deserve great things.
Tall Ships – Tall Ships came on to the IAH radar in 2010 having released two brilliant EPs and an energetic live show that sees the trio pass instruments around like a hot potato. Part of the fantastic roster of reliable record label Big Scary Monsters and management Idle Hands Club, Tall Ships have a lot of talent and are sure to make big waves in 2011.
The Joy Formidable – Long term readers of IAH will probably be aware of our championing of The Joy Formidable. Debut full length album ‘The Big Roar’ is to be released on January 24^th 2011 and is set to be massive. The trio make an unfathomable layered sound that is so different from most bands in the current music scene. Having heard the promo copy, The Big Roar will be one of the best albums of the year.
Spring Offensive – Spring Offensive are a delightful band. They have a great ability of writing dark, but intelligent lyrics with unpredictably catchy tunes. With an EP and a mini album already under their belt, we’re expecting a full length album in 2011 from the Oxford quintet.
The Cast of Cheers – In all honesty, IAH don’t know what The Cast of Cheers have planned for 2011. New album? Tour? Split up? No idea. Hopefully it will be the former two because we have just had the joy of discovering 2010 debut album ‘Chariot’ and my gosh- it’s good! This Irish foursome have a Foals-esque brilliance about them: a calculated, jagged rock that wants you leaving more. Hopefully 2011 will be the year that everybody knows their name.