Boy & Bear unearth lost tracks for new EP, announce massive regional tour of Australia

Ten years on from the release of their chart topping, ARIA-nominated album Harlequin Dream, Sydney’s Boy & Bear have returned today with a brand new single Abraham alongside the announcement of a new EP Lost Dreams. The new EP, which is comprised of found songs taken from the Harlequin Dream studio time, is due for release on Friday, September 15.

To celebrate the release, Boy & Bear are heading around the country on an extensive regional tour, with local pop trio Dulcie joining them for the Western Australian headline tour dates. This includes an all-ages show at Albany Entertainment Centre on Wednesday, October 4, and two shows at The River, Margaret River, on Thursday, October 5 and Friday, October 6 (sold out). Boy & Bear will wrap up the WA visit with a performance at Out of the Woods Festival in Fremantle on Saturday, October 7. 

Blending folk, blues and pop, Abraham is equally floating and foot-stomping in trademark Boy & Bear fashion. “I think It’s always interesting looking back and listening to old tunes,” said lead vocalist and guitarist David Hosking. “On one level the band has come such a long way but it’s also exciting to be able to reflect on the way we were approaching songwriting back then. I think we were definitely more traditional in that most songs had these big choruses and sing along moments and Abraham definitely sits in that world.”

With three new songs retrieved from the Harlequin Dream studio archives lying in wait on their upcoming EP, the jaunty emotives of Eye Of The Canyon and the neo-folk charm of Mexico, the trip down Boy & Bear memory lane was not initially a journey the band had ever planned on taking. With all three tracks written by the band themselves, co-produced by Wayne Conolly, mixed by Phil Ek and mastered by Greg Calbi, the eventual road to Lost Dreams initially started with actual loss, with the EP’s finished singles seemingly lost in the void before the mastered files were saved and pulled from the depths.

“We were all definitely aware of the songs’ existence,” said guitarist Killian Gavin. “But just like the growing folder of songs we never finish, I don’t think we ever thought they would see the light of day. We couldn’t find the files for the songs so we ended up speaking to Phil Ek (who mixed the album) to try and track down the mixes, then he put us in touch with the mastering team who were surprisingly able to track down the mastered files from 10 years ago!”

After forming in 2009, Boy & Bear swiftly came to national attention, releasing their double-platinum debut album Moonfire in 2011, which went on to snag five coveted ARIA award wins. Since then, 2013’s Harlequin Dream and 2015’s Limit Of Love strengthened Boy & Bear’s expansive presence, with both albums charting at #1, and Harlequin Dream marking the group’s second studio album to go Platinum. From 2019’s Suck on Light to 2023’s self-titled full length, Boy & Bear have shown no signs of slowing down. A special 10 year anniversary Harlequin Dream vinyl is set for release on Friday, September 1 ahead of the Lost Dreams EP release two weeks later.

Boy & Bear’s Lost Dreams is out Friday, September 15, 2023. Boy & Bear play Albany Entertainment Centre on Wednesday, October 4; The River on Thursday, October 5 and Friday, October 6; and Out of the Woods Festival on Saturday, October 7. For more info and to buy tickets, head to boyandbear.com