Clwb Music

Off the back of packed-out festival sets last summer and sold-out headline shows at Cardiff Castle and two nights at London’s The Social in October, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard will embark on a headline tour which includes their biggest show in the capital to date at Scala on 10 March - tickets are available HERE. The band have also shared teasers of their enigmatic live shows by recently sharing tantalising live performances of album cuts ‘Yourself’ and ‘You’. Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard will also support the legendary Stereophonics, Tom Jones and Catfish and the Bottlemen at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium in June. 

Speaking about ‘A Passionate Life’, vocalist and guitarist Tom Rees explains: “‘A Passionate Life’ was written about striving to be a better friend, and not spending so much time on myself. I think the world is always telling you to focus on you, which is the right thing to do a lot of the time, but it’s easy work. I don’t think I’ll ever change, but wanting to change feels like enough for now. We’re all surface level creatures and just the thought of wanting to be a better person makes me feel like I am.”

Commenting on the ‘A Passionate Life’ video, Rees says: “It’s a very simple idea, I’m no director, nor do I wish to be. It’s a sweet idea, just friends and fans (and two folks who work at the best Pakistani food joint in the Western world) and us.”

‘A Passionate Life’ follows previous tracks ‘Break Right In’, ‘Yourself’, ‘You’,  ‘Crescent Man vs Demolition Dan’ - a protest single which struck a chord in the local community following the destruction of Cardiff’s grassroots culture venues - & ‘New Age Millennial Magic’ which all continued the band’s impeccable run of press and radio support to date. 

Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard have seen repeat BBC Radio 1 airplay from Jack Saunders (who featured them as a Power Play and previously Daily Delivery), Annie Mac, and Gemma Bradley, heavy support from Jo Whiley (the band even performed at Maida Vale live-to-air on Whiley’s show) and Will Young on BBC Radio 2, John Kennedy at Radio X (where ‘You’ was added to the X-Posure playlist), as well as Steve Lamacq and Huw Stephens at BBC Radio 6 Music. ‘You’, ‘Crescent Man vs Demolition Dan’ and ‘New Age Millennial Magic’ also drew praise from the likes of NME, Clash, The Line Of Best Fit, Gigwise, DIY, Dork, Upset, and more.

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Since forming in 2017, the Cardiff-based four-piece - the aforementioned vocalist and guitarist Tom Rees, guitarist Zac White, drummer Ethan Hurst and Rees’ brother and bassist Eddie - have become one of the most talked-about new bands in the U.K. Driven by an exciting, dynamic energy presented at a host of magnetic, hype-building live shows, the band’s critically-acclaimed debut EP The Non-Stop then followed in summer 2020.

Across their multiple, frenetic tours, the band have made fans in tourmates from The Magic Gang to Miles Kane, and were set to support Noel Gallagher – another on a growing list of fans – at the Royal Albert Hall before the coronavirus struck. Operating out of their studio base in Cardiff, the band are also an integral part of a blooming Welsh indie scene. Alongside his work in Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard, Rees is also a fast-rising producer, working with the likes of Do Nothing, Private World, The Bug Club and Panic Shack.

With Backhand Deals, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard are ripping up the rule book. A rejection of rock music's more archaic ideals, their debut album plunges into Tom Rees’ exploration of honesty and authenticity, and untangles what it means to be a ‘rock star’. The key to this demystification is Rees’ sharp wit - using sarcasm and humour to keep the listener in limbo, and in turn, leading their audience to face their own thoughts.

“Backhand Deals is a practise in subverting the ideology of rock music as something that needs to be ‘brought back from the dead’. Rock should be about enjoying yourself honestly, whether that's washing the dishes, sweeping the yard, or complaining about whoever got elected. Rock is a sweeping power, and is attributed to anyone who performs art honestly, from Lizzo feeling good as hell to AC/DC riding down a highway to hell. The honesty is the same, and the honesty prevails,” explains Rees.

“The record allowed us to discuss the thoughts we have about our lives, the lives of people from Cardiff, the lives of people from Wales, and the lives of people from everywhere whilst openly admitting that we know nothing and we're just part-time-opinion-havers. The longer we're a band, I realise that all we ever want to do is effect change in people's lives and to do that disingenuously would make me feel slimy. So let's do it honestly in any way possible. Rock isn't dead, it doesn't need 'resurrecting' or 'regurgitating'; it needs acknowledging for what it is, and it's everywhere. If we should ever be considered a band that is ‘bringing rock music back’ I think I would shed a tear - rock should be moving forwards, not backwards.”