Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard reinvent rock for the modern age with their fuzz-filled upcoming single, Love Forever, out on now via Big Indie Records.
Their exhilarating new release takes inspiration from 70s greats such as T. Rex and Thin Lizzy, adding an extra element of scrappy swagger to the fold. Frontman Tom Rees’ distinctive lead vocal feels instantly reminiscent of the likes of Marc Bolan, whilst the raw, reverb-heavy twangs of the guitar take us back into the sweaty 21st century. The quartet’s energy is in full-throttle throughout, showcasing their trademark ability to create compelling garage-pop with maximum fuzz.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard about the new release, motivations, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
I really dig on the production of 70’s rock music, after the British Invasion scene kind of died off, and everyone in the Western world started realising that the ‘American Dream’, as we appropriated it here too, wasn’t as glittery as everyone had thought. I really dig the criticism of the 70’s, the skepticism too.
How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?
We’ve all been performing since we were really young, I remember me and my brother put on a show at a family party when we were real young and charged everyone a fiver to get in, made loads of money, it was wild.
Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?
More recently I’ve been a little more informed by political theory (this guy take himself too seriously), which is an interesting angle of inspiration, especially for writing, it’s not very ethereal or sexy, but still is an interesting inspiration nonetheless.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
Mainly I was trying to create music in my conversational voice, as I would like to write it and how I would like it to be heard by people if they were just hearing me talk, that’s the most important thing. I think the most important thing about creation in any artistic practise is strong conviction of ones thoughts and opinions.
What was the last song you listened to?
A song called ‘Japanese Cowboy’ by Rhodri Brooks, that hasn’t been released yet.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
Records are of course the best.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I think Spotify is great, though I’m sure all the other platforms are fairly similar. I just really dig on discover weekly, it’s the digital equivalent of crate-digging.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?
Trying to convince people that you’re not pastiche is a big one. There’s a real hard and fast tendency to label anything as derivative these days, which stifles new creatives.
Do you gig, tour or perform? Do you ever live stream? Where can music lovers see you live?
We perform all the time, though live streaming has never really been our thing. We’ve got a hot tour announcement to get out there soon, but until then we’re playing Neighbourhood Festival in Manchester and Tenement Trail in Glasgow in October.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?
I’d head over to YouTube just because we have some rocking videos, man.
Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?
I had a thought this morning that maybe True Crime Docs on Netflix is the reason for the rise of the alt-right, but it’s still a work in progress.
