With Moonfire, the Sydney quintet Boy & Bear have released one of the most anticipated albums of the year - and they don’t disappoint.

Emerging from the post-Mumford & Sons folk hysteria that was 2009/2010, Boy & Bear have crafted a debut that stands apart from their With Emperor Antartica EP and strongly on its own.

To record this album, the band travelled to Nashville, Tennessee to work with the man who has produced the likes of The Shins, The Strokes, The White Stripes and Elton John - Joe Chiccarelli.

While there may not be another ‘Fall at Your Feet’ on this record, I feel the album as a whole is fresh and exciting. Some its finer moments (in my opinion) even eclipse the Crowded House cover that afforded the band so much attention and secured them the #5 spot in Triple J’s Hottest 100 of 2010.

The first single from the album, ‘Feeding Line’, is in instant hit which will garner the band new fans and hopefully please the existing ones.
Recording with Joe Chiccarelli seems to have had a positive effect on the band, they embrace a much broader spectrum of sounds on Moonfire; not ditching their signature ‘nu-folk’ sound but allowing it room to grow and evolve.

‘Milk and Sticks’ is a shaker, with a distinctive melody guaranteed to make you want to move. There’s still elements of the Boy & Bear of old in songs like ‘Percy Warner Park’ and ‘House & Farm’ and the album finishes on quite a special note with the perfectly-placed ‘Big Man’.

Dave Hosking & Co. have unleashed a memorable debut and found their niche.

Review Score: 8/10