Two months after releasing the single ‘Just To Be Kind’, Boy & Bear have unveiled an acoustic reworking of the track. The original release was described as a heartfelt song “about loving someone but having to let them go for reasons out of your own hands.”
The acoustic rendition recontextualises Dave Hosking’s poignant lyricism, with lonesome guitar melodies, tinkling pianos and double bass highlighting the raw emotion apparent in Hosking’s lead vocal.
Boy & Bear – ‘Just To Be Kind’ (Acoustic)
“We’ve always loved doing stripped back versions of our own songs,” Hosking said in a statement. “It allows us to reinterpret the song in a new light as well indulge a little in our folkier side. It’s generally arranged and recorded pretty quickly to keep it feeling raw and natural.”
The acoustic version of ‘Just to Be Kind’ was recorded at Golden Retriever Studio in Marrickville, NSW, with engineer Simon Berkelman. Berkelman, aka Berkfinger, also mixed and mastered the new recording. The accompanying acoustic music video was filmed and edited by Maclay Heriot.
‘Just To Be Kind’ is the second of two singles released by Boy & Bear in 2022, with ‘State Of Flight’ arriving in April. The band’s most recent album, 2019’s Suck On Light, is their fourth in total.
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