The most exciting new band to break out of Wales in recent years, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard have today shared “A Passionate Life” — the final taste of their heavily-anticipated debut album Backhand Deals, which will be released on February 25, 2022 via Missing Piece Records / Communion. The band will make their US debut at SXSW this March.

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” and “New Age Millennial Magic.” 

As presented on their 2020 debut The Non-Stop EP, the band – Rees, guitarist Zac White, drummer Ethan Hurst and Rees’ brother and bassist Eddie – draw from classic ‘70s rock with a distinctly 21st century twist, dragging the sounds of T-Rex and Steely Dan kicking and screaming into the 2020s. With Backhand Deals, Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard ripped up the rulebook – 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.

“With the record we’re really obsessed with denying our traditional influences by overwhelming the music with contemporary references so we don’t sound like your dad’s cover band who are really good when they don’t overdo the Guinness and the lead singer remembers his lyric sheet,” says Rees. “We know deep down we love ‘70s music too much to just abandon it in pursuit of being considered relevant, so it seems like the right thing to do to use modern recording techniques and contemporary references to make something inherently new.”

Taking lyrical cues from the surreal, never-ending doomsday news cycle, the album pairs their trademark ‘70s references and aesthetic with contemporary storylines, and influences from modern classic songwriters such as Father John Misty, whose 2017 album Pure Comedy was the frontman’s primary obsession around the time Backhand Deals started taking shape.

 “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.” 

Backhand Deals is out February 25, 2022 via Missing Piece Records / Communion. 

Photo Courtesy: Lily Brown