Melbourne’s Pierce Brothers have offered up their latest track , ‘The Captive’, which follows on from the subtle pop of ‘When It All Goes Away’, and ‘How Sweet Is This Love (feat. Steph Strings)’. This time around, Jack and Pat Pierce head back in to the high-energy indie folk that audiences all over the world have come to know and love.

From the playful opening key notes, Pat’s beautiful, intricate acoustic guitar work, and Jack’s emotional-yet-uplifting lead vocal come together to explore the emotional baggage that comes with a life full of regret; all the while urging toward a more optimistic future, with catchy hooks and an upbeat tone.

‘The Captive’ displays, once again, why Pierce Brothers are a beloved act, not just in our own sunburnt country, but abroad. Pat and Jack balance high emotions with clever guitar craft and melodious hooks, with a sweet piano being the underlying MVP of ‘The Captive’, and their ability to create goosebump moments through vocal builds without over-bloating the track. Wait for those golden, yet subtle, changes to the chorus at the end of the track which add just an extra bit of fairy dust to an already uplifting song. Pierce Brothers have, for over a decade, been leading the charge of emotional, driving, indie-folk in Australia, with acts like Ziggy Alberts and The Dreggs owing Pat and Jack for carving the musical path on which they tread.

Jack Pierce explains the explorations of the effects of negative past experiences that can have consequences if they are not addressed.

“This is a song about the struggle of mental health of pushing down bad memories and emotions without facing them. We wanted to explore those feelings of regret in the past and how they can affect the way you move forward in life if you’re not careful. We discussed loss, and the exploration of a voice that you hold onto deep down. The feeling that can take you over and pull you under if you let it,” he said.

Written during the Covid lockdowns, The Captive was eventually recorded at Red Moon Studios and produced by longtime collaborator Jan Skubiszewski. “The boys are famous for their highly energetic live shows but they are also sensitive songwriters and musicians,'' says Jan about the process. “Their bond as twins and brothers is the backbone of the band, they laugh, play and fight all the time which is hilarious and I think we have been able to capture some of their magic in The Captive”.

“We’ve worked extensively with Jan in the past on lots of projects since we released Overdose in 2015. Jan is one of the most talented producers (and musicians) in the country and it’s always awesome when we get to work on anything together” says Pat Pierce.

The music video for The Captive was shot and cut by one of the bros Patrick Pierce. Filmed in beautiful surroundings, the brothers set out to film something lo-fi and simple. “I wanted to get back behind the camera and flex that creative muscle on this track.” says Pat, “A good place to start was finding some beautiful locations to film, allowing Jack and I to just perform the track and let the environment do the rest! I have some really cool music video ideas coming up to jump into next, and I’m really excited about it!”

The Captive is the third single to be released from an EP with a slew of tracks recorded in collaboration with some exciting Australian artists including Garrett Kato, Tash Sultana and Steph Strings.

Embracing the lockdown situation, the brothers employed the unconventional technique of co-writing the batch of tracks over Zoom, and then headed to Red Moon Studios where they recorded their previous release ‘INTO THE GREAT UNKNOWN’ to put most of the songs down. “While collaborating we wanted to explore different genres and places that we haven’t been before,” Pat says of the experience, “It was so good to get back into that space again! We all felt so free to experiment as this EP is about trying new things! It was tough at first as we were stuck writing over Zoom, but once we got in the swing of things with each artist, we were able to really pull something special together.”

Pierce Brothers have returned to Australian shores following on from their most recent European tour and are about to embark on a regional Australian summer tour to spread the good times and good vibes. “It had been incredible to get back over to that part of the world and still have shows going as nuts as they had been!” says Patrick. “We absolutely cannot wait to share what we have been working on with our Australian fans and road test some new music!”

‘The Captive’ is out now on all streaming platforms.