Interview - Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard

Image by Charlie Harris

Unlike other guitar bands of their generation, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard are neither post-punk nor that Oasis-influenced, lads band, tales-of-the-streets thing (thank goodness). Their references are more varied, their attitude is more tongue-in-cheek and they have a sense of humour: shortly after the release of recent single ‘National Rust,’ the band tweeted: ‘David Byrne hasn’t called yet so I think we’re in the clear.’

Yet the Welsh quartet take their work very seriously and are far from frivolous. Forthcoming album Skinwalker tackles singer and songwriter Tom Rees’s mental health struggles and is based – loosely – around a concept of tackling them, as he explains to CLASH: “The whole idea for the record was I had this idea: imagine if you were walking through a fairground and there was a guy who was like, ‘Come on this ride, take a trip through your own mind,’ and you’d be like, ‘Yeah! That sounds class.’ Then as you go into the elevator, each door opens on each floor and everything becomes more horrific as you go down.”

“You have the realisation that you’re not as chill as you thought you were and everything is a mess. It focussed the record on self-exploration. I was suffering a lot from depression and anxiety before writing the record, and I went into therapy and got through. The process of doing that was great but I thought the guy was going to fucking slap me on the arse; ‘You did it kid, you’re all cured,’ at the end. But it’s not that, it keeps going.”

https://www.clashmusic.com/features/on-returning-buzzard-buzzard-buzzard-take-their-next-step/