Boy & Bear is filled with 11 classics. With songs like “Strange World” and “Silver Moon”, you can already imagine venues packed to the brim and with fans singing along. The band is known for their stadium tours, where they play to crowds of over 65,000 in Australia and have sold out international tours multiple times in a row. Their music is perfect when played live, something any fan can attest to.

What’s unique about this album is that it is wholly Boy & Bear. They self-produced it, creating most of it in their own studio, and putting their entire identity as a band into this fifth album. It’s only right that it’s self-titled. You can listen here:

Dave Hosking of Boy & Bear sat down with Popdust to talk about self-producing their own album, Boy & Bear, and more!

Congratulations on your fifth studio album, Boy & Bear! How did it feel different writing this album than any other one before?

Well this one was self-produced so we were really working collectively to get the songs to a good place. We also worked a lot out of our own studio next door to the main studio which allowed us to experiment with different sounds and effects. There is something nice about working locally, there’s often more time to work the songs and you really get to chip away slowly, pushing and pulling the tracks as needed.

What was the inspiration behind the album as a whole?

I think from a sonic perspective we were enjoying the connection between digital sounds and organic sounds. We used drum machines a lot more and wanted to create a hybrid between the hypnotic nature of the drum machines and the more organic elements of performance. Lyrically I think the songs are a lot about the fragility of our own minds. I’m often fascinated by this, the ability to persevere through adversity, to adapt, to dig deep in times of distress and reflect on what we are all capable of achieving.

What was your favorite memory creating your self-titled album?

I think my favourite memories are of when the song really starts to click. That moment when you hear back the final arrangement and feel a strong sense of excitement and achievement. There’s nothing better than hearing the final product come together.

You’re known for your incredible live performances, being one of Australia’s best-selling acts. What’s your favorite part about performing live?

I think performing live really is really important to us. It allows us to show our musicianship and to adapt the songs where needed to the live environment. I love the feeling of performance, the free fall that comes from losing yourself in the music in front of a big crowed. It’s pretty special.

You have a few shows coming up this summer in Australia….what can fans expect from these shows?

We’ve definitely changed the set list up from previous tours, digging deeper into the catalogue but also sharing some of the newer songs. If we get it right it will really demonstrate the vast variety between the songs and hopefully people will appreciate that.

If you had to name a few favorite tracks off the album, what would they be and why?

I really love strange world. I think the arrangement is just so solid and I’ve always loved the lyric. I think it’s a great example of where the arrangement really amplifies the story. The drums to me always felt like they were representing this real sense of determination and energy which suits the songs lyrical drive and sense of hope. I also really love Crossfire. I love playing around with my falsetto and was just super happy at where the vocal finished up. I think the end result was something super hypnotic and full of emotion.

What was it like self-producing and recording Boy & Bear?

It’s always interesting having five chefs in the kitchen (so to speak) but I think we navigated this well. We’ve learned over the years that different people in the band bring certain strengths and weaknesses and you really have to know when to speak up and when to just get out of the way of someone else’s ideas. I’m proud of the fact that we did this on our own and I think it shows what we are capable of achieving when we’re at the helm!