Boy & Bear

The band Boy & Bear sound like a group that would wear worn down flannel, have long hair, and grow out their beards; at first listen they might be confused with Fleet Foxes.  They possess the airy folk ambiance and vocal harmonies that is essentially synonymous with the now-famous Seattle group.  In fact, the first five seconds of Boy & Bear's "Mexican Mavis" sounds like it was copied and pasted from the beginning of the Fleet Foxes' "Heard Them Stirring".  Upon further listening, though, it can be seen that the parallels between Boy & Bear and Fleet Foxes aren't so identical.  While Boy & Bear utilizes many of the same concepts, they have a little bit of a rougher sound in comparison, including electric guitar in many of their tracks.  It'll be interesting to see how they progress with this sound, especially since Boy & Bear is still relatively new.  They formed in late 2009 and have released only one EP in their tenure (With Emperor Antarctica), but with the music writing talent that's present on their EP, who knows what they're capable of.  I've posted the songs "Mexican Mavis" and "Rabbit Song" from this year's With Emperor Antarctica, have a listen:

Mexican Mavis

Rabbit Song

You can download the EP here.