Hanging out with Boy & Bear

For fans of Boy & Bear, these are truly exciting times. The Sydney lads, who are fast becoming a staple of the Australian music scene, are keeping the ball rolling with the upcoming release of Limit of Love, an impressive follow up 2013’s platinum selling Harlequin Dream. To support the new release, there is a new Australian tour with shows at some of our most iconic venues.

We caught up with Boy & Bear’s Dave Hosking, to talk music, tours, and vinyl.


Limit of Love is a brave new direction that saw Boy & Bear team up with veteran producer Ethan Johns to tackle a somewhat unorthodox method of recording and production. Everything was recorded live to tape, with some tracks being cut in as few as two takes. This came from an ethos of wanting the album to be 'good, not perfect' and, overall, Hosking seems thrilled with the result.

“Music becomes emotive because of the personality behind it. The more editing there is, or changes that are made to the way a person plays their instrument or sings sucks out the humanity behind it. You’re taking out the personality and the uniqueness. You’re making it harder to connect to the human on the other side of that instrument.

“That’s something I’ve come to after working with Ethan. This seemed like a way to set the ground as to where we‘re at. I think it’s a really honest representation of the way we play as a band… and I think it does start to set you apart from the rest of the pack.”

The other huge news out of the Boy & Bear camp is, of course, the announcement of their new Australian tour dates. They mean a speedy return to the road following an insane 2014 which featured over 170 shows. The tour will see them playing some Australia’s most impressive venues and stages such as Hordern Pavillion in Sydney and Riverstage in Brisbane.

“I’ve never been to Hordern Pavilion in my life. That’ll be fun. I like playing big stages! I like playing the festival stages, I realise it’s not the same thing, but it’s upbeat, and it’s a lot of fun playing in that environment. This set will be a lot of the new album as well, we’re excited to play some new songs, and maybe put a bit of a fresh spin on some old ones!”

In the lead up to its release, which includes a vinyl limited edition, there was one more important question surrounding Limit of Love. Does Hosking have strong thoughts on vinyl?

“I bought my first record player this year, so I’m a recent convert. I love it. I’ve only just started to understand it, but it’s a new process of listening to music. I think the way we’ve made this record should sound really great when it’s listened to in an analogue way… but then I think everything is great when it’s listened to in analogue!”


Limit of Love is being released on 9 October from Universal Music. Check out www.boyandbear.com for tour info.