The Pierce Brothers have a history of writing affecting and passionate indie/folk songs that somehow manage to capture an essence of Australiana: the remote outback, the desert sand and the dappled searing hot sunshine. Their new single ‘Dentist’ somehow manages to add a sense of uneasiness borne out of the era of isolation, using the title ‘Dentist’ as more of an allegory of anxiety induced by the word than what it represents. Jack Pierce says of the song:
This song was written during the first lockdown earlier in the year. I really wanted to step up my writing so, along with a friend of mine, I started doing a writing exercise every night. This song came out of one of those exercises. The word was Dentist. What flowed out was a reflection on the vulnerability we feel when things are out of our control and we don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s what the song is ultimately about, vulnerability. The dentist part is just a word.
The accompanying video is a simple perfomance of the duo with snapshots of friends and family pinned to a wall – capturing the nature of distance and isolation:
With a gorgeous harmonica break and a driving banjo riff, this is a shimmering, evocative tune imbued with a nuanced melancholy air.
You can get the single here.
The Pierce Brothers will be touring Europe next year on the back of a new album. Details below or through their website here. You can also catch some gigs in Australia this year through the same link.
