Cardiff group Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard recently hit the world in the neck with The Non-Stop EP, a 10-song journey crammed into 30 ferocious, contemplative, and brilliant minutes. The band’s sound is ’70s, worn on the sleeve. As you’ll soon find out, it comes from a place of genuine love.
Frontman and songwriter Tom Rees was happy to drop us a little more info on the EP and a couple of key influences behind the stadium-ready sounds within. Take it away, Tom.
The Non-Stop EP from Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard hits hard and fast. Frontman Tom Rees recently opened up the vault on 4 key records that influenced his band’s latest effort, from AC/DC to T. Rex.
T. Rex – The Slider
For this whole EP I was trying to replicate the snare sound that Tony Visconti got on The Slider. I remember when I was like 14 I played a really low bitrate version of the record that I had downloaded from Limewire through these broken Sennheiser headphones, I remember screaming at the top of my pre-pubescent lungs when I heard the first snare hit on Metal Guru, it was like seeing God, man.
Todd Rundgren – Something / Anything?
Along the same theme of killer drum sounds, the rack tom sound on I Saw The Light changed my life forever. When I was playing in a previous band we used to listen to it in car journeys to shows, though it used to get sacked off a little early for an Oasis or Arcade Fire album, much to my dismay, I used to lobby for the Todd album to be played all the time but it always got knocked off the top spot – I digress.
When listening to it for the first time in the car it blew me away, Todd’s vocals all over that album are both tender and ferocious, completely unafraid of being romantic and aggressive. It’s the first record I had listened to where I felt that love songs were cool.
The Hives – Your New Favourite Band
Though this is a compilation CD it’s the album that affected me most when I was younger and, unbeknownst to me, had a huge influence on the EP. The energy of all of the early Hives recordings is insane, everything so dry and upfront, you can just feel the sweat, I love dry everything; dry drums, dry vocals, dry guitars, it leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination, everything is plain to see.
Although the Hives are probably considered to be a universe away from Todd Rundgren and T. Rex, the production element is what ties them together for me, so much early punk production is reminiscent of ’70s rock.
AC/DC – High Voltage
Speaking of ’70s rock and the bridge between punk and rock, AC/DC are the kings of dry everything. Much like Something / Anything?, listening to High Voltage made rock tropes cool again, and informed pretty much every lyrical escapade on the EP. Previous to listening to High Voltage I would have perhaps thought that singing about denim or writing a song called Stockholm City Rock might be too pastiche, but the DC showed me that it can be done well, and with excitement too.
This record encouraged a whole load more freedom in the writing and production of the EP, like, why not have a bagpipes solo on the opening track?
The Non-Stop EP from Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard is out now via Communion Records / Caroline Australia. Give it a listen below or buy your copy here.
