Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard

The most exciting new band to break out of Wales in recent years Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard have today
shared ‘Yourself’ – a new track taken from their heavily-anticipated debut album Backhand Deals, which
will be released on 25 February 2022 via Communion.
Off the back of packed-out festival sets over the summer and sold-out headline shows at Cardiff Castle and
two nights at London’s The Social, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard have also announced details of a headline
tour in 2022 which includes their biggest show in the capital to date at Scala on 10 March – tickets are
available HERE.
Speaking about ‘Yourself’, vocalist and guitarist Tom Rees explains: “Basically I had never realised how
incapable I am of living by myself until my girlfriend Carlota went to live in Venice for three months to
work at the Biennale and I found myself eating corn flakes dry out of the box for dinner, just thumbing
them in my gob asking myself where it all went wrong. It’s natural to miss someone of course though I
think I took it to new heights.”
He adds: “This one’s about my reluctance to let in about those feelings to her though, big ‘naaaah I’m
totally fine I’m doing great!’ vibes, real male-engrained-denial-of-true-feelings vibes, I didn’t think I was
capable of that until this all happened so it’s good to know I’m just as dysfunctional as everyone else. Not
to mention I think it’s still potentially problematic that the first time I had a real go at writing a love song
it was kind of all about me anyway, go figure.”
‘Yourself’ follows the album’s lead single ‘You’ and album cuts ‘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 continued the band’s impeccable run of
press and radio support to date.
The singles 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 recently 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, 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.”