Flashback to the summer after high school graduation. As I was shopping for my college dorm at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, I heard the most magnificent guitar riff trailing through the aisles. That song was no other than “Southern Sun.” And that fateful moment was the introduction to one of my current favorite bands, Boy & Bear. Formed in 2009, they describe themselves as “‘a combination of drivey indie folk and choral harmonies.’” I don’t know what “drivey” means. But I do know that since discovering them, I have spent hours upon hours with the wind pumping through the roofless Jeep blasting some Boy and Bear. My favorite release (and I think their most popular release) is what I will be talking about today: Harlequin Dream.
Released in August of 2013, Harlequin Dream is Boy & Bear’s second studio album. They are currently on their 10-Year Anniversary Celebration tour for the album, and the things I would do to get me some of those tickets are insane. Back to the songs… those heavenly guitar chords that enchanted me in the home goods store are what open it up.
I physically don’t understand how “Southern Sun” isn’t one of the biggest indie bangers ever. It was my #1 song of 2022. I will never get sick of it. There are other indie bangers that I have started getting sick of–even if they are amazing upon initial listens. I’d even say I have started phasing in-and-out of songs like “The Less I Know The Better,” “What Once Was,” and “Swing Lynn” from time to time. But I have never, and could never see myself getting tired of the angelic riff in “Southern Sun.”
In the baskings of a holy night
And I was lucid and conscious
And hovering like a firefly
In the song, this man has fallen so innocently and beautifully in love with a girl, and all he can do is daydream about her. Those “16 days under a southern sun” he spent going out into the world, he grew, he matured, and yet he’s stuck with only daydreams.
You think that I don’t know, what it is that makes me glow
A nice run through the suburbs of my university listening to “Southern Sun” makes me glow. That’s all I need.
Other songs on the album that I have had obsessive moments with are “Old Town Blues,” “Bridges,” “Stranger,” and “Arrow Flight.” But when I tell you you cannot go wrong, you cannot go wrong. When the opening notes to “Harlequin Dream” start, I have a visceral reaction that results in some head-bopping.
But you know all too well
That you cannot replace the space
Your spirit had once held
Like WHAT, he really just said that. Then continues to say that they always retreat to their Harlequin dream. God, it’s so sad yet so real sometimes. I never used the terminology “Harlequin” before, but it’s kind of thought-provoking and beautiful. Maybe it’ll make its way into my vocabulary.
I cannot end this review without finally talking about “Real Estate.”
But I’m so tired
Of talking ‘bout the price of real estate
You better head back down
To where you came through
Talk about a grounding song. I feel grounded just copying those lyrics onto here. Because Boy & Bear is right. I talk about meaningless things like the price of real estate, politics I don’t care about, and celebrities’ dating statuses. And I really don’t need to. Thank you, my Australian friends, for setting me free of my real estate talking nonsense.
“Harlequin Dream” is an amazing album, but there is so much more to Boy & Bear. I happen upon new songs of theirs all the time, including those like “Magnus,” “Abraham,” “Just Dumb,” “Silver Moon,” and “Fall At Your Feet.” Don’t even get me started on their cover of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game.” I played it so often last year that my roommate thought the Boy & Bear version was the original. Then once I played her Chris Isaak’s, she was not a fan of it. The slower, acoustic Boy & Bear version offers a different, more reflective tone to it.
If you are looking for a new favorite song, look no further than “Southern Sun.” If you are looking for an awesome Australian bunch of boys to obsess over, please look no further than Boy & Bear.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlequin_Dream
Iz FM 
Leave a comment