BOY & BEAR : TRIPPING OVER TIME

BOY & BEAR : TRIPPING OVER TIME

Tripping Over Time
Where Does Life Begin
Vertigo
Ancestors
Thunder
Lost Control
Love Has Been Too Good To Me
Roses
Sleep Talking
All These Years
Movie

Label : V2

Release Date : December 12, 2025

Length : 38:51

Review (Americana UK) : Time felt a little different for Australian indie band Boy & Bear when they were working on their sixth studio album “Tripping Over Time”. The band got to record in their own studio for the first time, which gave them the freedom to be free of the pressure to perform on costly hired studio time and slow things down, to the extent that the line between writing and recording became blurred and, to quote frontman Dave Hosking, it gave the band a new “experimental spirit”. Experimental is a keyword to remember with the album, especially if you’re hoping to box it neatly into the – admittedly wide – spectrum that is americana. The title track, for example, feels like a piece of dreamy new wave escapism as Hosking sings that he’s “Wandering ‘round in the sun” but “not afraid of the unknown now” as he journeys through life, even “Floating through the night”. ‘Where Does Life Begin’ is upbeat with shades of melodic 80s pop-rock as Hosking tries to put a positive spin on the past, while ‘Vertigo’ is similarly vibrant with a reminder that you can only truly appreciate where you’ve been once you look back: “Now that the coast is clear / You look back at stars that got you here.” “I’m taking my chances / I’m trying / We’re trying,” Hosking insists on the gentle ‘Thunder’ that rolls along less like a storm and more an easy summer breeze. ‘Love Has Been Too Good To Me’ is backed by a melodic drum machine, adding to the feel of retro pop panache as he muses artfully on how love has treated him: “Cos I’m an over thinker / But there’s a magic in that too / Sometimes you get real lucky / And stumble on the truth.” While it starts unassumingly, ‘Roses’ builds to some truly catchy power pop on the chorus as Hosking asks with surprising vigour “Won’t you bury me down / Where all of the roses will grow”. The most classically americana sounding of the whole album, ‘Sleep Talking’ is a soft, meditative look into the state of a relationship and if the pair would still be drawn together now “If I was walking by for the first time / Would you still feel the same / Would we collide”, while on the melodic ‘All These Years’ Hosking struggles as he searches for guidance, but ‘Movie’ finds him feeling more wistful and languid, feeling that “Time an open gate / Creaking on its hinge”, but still he’s “not afraid of darkness”. As a whole, “Tripping Over Time” is all about the small lessons you learn in life, the ones that might go unnoticed until you look back years down the line. “You keep learning, stumbling forward, and embracing the chaos with a smile. It’s optimistic, nostalgic and playful, just like life itself,” Hosking reflected on the album. It’s an LP that feels fresh too, which is quite something for a band 15 years into their career, and shows that Boy & Bear are in no danger of tripping over time as they keep on moving forward.

Review (ABC News) : Sneaking in before the buzzer blows on 2025, Boy & Bear have followed up 2023's self-titled full-length with Tripping Over Time, their sixth album and a flex of their reliable skill-set. Don't let the title or the trippy cover give you the wrong impression. Boy & Bear haven't gone prog rock — this record offers gentle twists on their tried-and-true sound, not a re-haul. And a welcome one at that. The opening title track coats a mild psychedelic layer over the expanded palette the Australian group have developed in recent years: synths, guitar tones, a robust rhythm section, and frontman Dave Hosking's floating, falsetto lead vocal mirrored with a low-end. The track's hypnotic quality draws from the sample-based delights of The Avalanches and Moby but ends up only sounding like Boy & Bear. Similarly, 'Vertigo' unwinds its spine with a snaking groove, springy guitars and reminding us 'there's an art to dancing on your own'. It’s a far cry from ‘Southern Sun’ but still feels like the work of a band operating in the same sonic hemisphere. It's indicative of how the five-piece have evolved from the indie-folk origins of 2011's ARIA-scooping debut Moonfire and only gotten better at songwriting that merges the vintage with the modern. 'Lost Control' blends chiming '60s six-strings and dusty strumming with luminous keys for a moody, melancholy number. 'Roses' takes that palette and flips an opening couplet about regret into a pleasingly sentimental sing-along. The comforting 'Thunder' belies it stormy title, with banjo quietly picked beneath its swooning textures, while 'Sleep Talking' foregrounds murmuring keys and wounded. melodies. 'Where Does Life Begin' merges momentum with melancholy as Hosking sings reflectively 'I wasn't afraid of it back then, I put the music up loud / You tried to help but me then you lost me in the crowd.' Another highlight, 'Love Has Been Good To Me' is a ballad of gratitude from a self-confessed overthinker and anxious lover who gets 'tangled in the past'. Drum machine and an understated riff anchor its steady atmosphere, only swelling as it basks in warm backing vocals and twinkling piano. Lyrically, these songs look at "the passing of time through a variety of lenses," says the singer-guitarist, the kind of perspective only earned with age and the wisdom to slow down. "You're always learning and stumbling forward, embracing the cyclic nature of life." Through the changes and shifting priorities as life does its thing, we can aim for growth and fresh insights — such as this nugget from the easy-going 'All These Years': 'I've got so much to say, I'm learning to listen more'. Boy & Bear are a much-loved band, as evidenced by regularly appearing in the pointy end of the charts and selling out shows. But as they edge towards two decades together, Tripping Over Time makes it clear that their staying power doesn't stem from chasing success or trends. What sustains them is tweaking their core appeal without needing to radically depart from it.

Review (Renowned For Sound) : Boy & Bear sound, to me, like a band more interested in the long road than as quick win. Since emerging from Sydney in early 2010s, they’ve built a loyal fan base from their harmony-rich song writing and sun-faded melodies. In self-released Tripping Over Time, the band looks to lean into moving forward with an eye on the past —shaped from touring, time apart, and growing older without slowing down – Boy & Bear are hoping for more of a recalibration than reinvention: familiar elements rearranged and new perspectives on old matters. Let’s find out if the trip ends in a comical heap or an elegant forward motion! Starting with their title track, Tripping Over Time, feels somewhat reflective lyrically, with some nice laid back instrumentation – it’s a very easy track to listen to, but without anything that particularly hits you in the face… which I think was somewhat the intention – good track. Where Does Life Begin next, which begins slowly with piano, but builds into a muted crescendo at the chorus. Vertigo is the first of a few tracks where I instantly thought “David Gray” – not sure if that’s a positive or not… guess it depends on whether that’s what the band were going for – and this is true for the acoustic Ancestors, though Thunder had a more laid back 70’s feel to it (I think it was the harmonies & chords at the chorus). Lost Control kicks off the second half of the album in an upbeat yet melancholy feel, giving me early noughties indie rock vibes – it’s probably my favourite track on the album. next up, Love Has Been Too Good to Me starts with what sounds like a Casio keyboard pre-set beat, and I’m not against it tbh, in what is for me the most David Gray-esque slow track. Roses is a nice, short, analogue indie/rock track, whilst Sleep Talking is a melancholy slow mover (and probably in my running for best track on the album), and penultimate track All These Years is an inoffensive standard mid-tempo rock n roll track. We round off proceedings with Movie – which in the main is a good track, though it does feel like about halfway through David Hosking uses the track to have a bit of a whinge! Tripping Over Time is a solid album and, honestly, will please the current fan base… and maybe bring some newcomers on board. It’s not necessarily for me at this time – there’s nothing new on there for me, and it doesn’t give me what I’m looking for in an indie/rock album… there’s nothing that stands out enough for me to add a track to my favourites… but if it was on in the background of a coffee shop, I wouldn’t complain.