Buckley Ward take iTunes Single of the Week!
We knew that Buckley Ward would tickle our fancy when we saw their influences listed as Crowded House, Wilco, The Shins and Death Cab for Cutie, but we didn’t know just how much until we heard their debut album, ‘Something in the Night’.
The title track of the album is this weeks free download as iTunes Single of the Week - the most highly coveted position on the iTunes home page. It’s no wonder why as the intricate melodies and instrumentation hark back to the songwriting greats of the 60s and 70s, but with a definite and self-assured modern, indie twist.
Ryan caught up with lead singer Jimmy for some insight into the Buckley Ward world, and an album that should be a definite favourite on many playlists.
Lets get the boring stuff out of the way, how’d you get your band name?
Well, it’s actually the council electorate where four of us grew up. We used to rehearse in a tin shed down there. Our guitarist just came up with it one day in the shed. When we used to Google ourselves, the council would come up first. Now it comes up 7th. It was a pretty big deal when we first knocked the council off it’s number one slot.
The album definitely has a wide scope of influences and songwriting styles, were your ideas solid before going into the studio? Or was recording the album a journey of writing as you go?
A lot of the songs were written before we started, but the arrangements were pieced together as we were recording. The album was recorded at my house in a bedroom converted into a studio. I have a really short attention span, so I’d go in to the studio to record a part and I’d just end up writing new songs instead. There comes a point though where you just have to take what you’ve done and finish it. Having said that, I wrote and recorded the first track on the album the night before we started mixing. I guess one last idea-gasm snuck in there.
I notice all members are credited for writing the material, how do you manage five creative ideas and inputs in the songwriting process?
I usually record a demo of a song before we work on it as a band. Sometimes the song is very basic and empty, other times I have a pretty solid idea of where I want it to go. In both cases the songs always end up sounding like us anyway, so regardless of my ideas, they are always Buckley Ward songs. Everyone has a unique influence on the sound and we all interoperate songs differently. Sometimes we go back and listen to the demo and wonder how we ended up where we did.
I love the artwork on the album. Is the family pictured on the front a distant relation of any band member?
The girl on the back cover of the record is Tim’s (our drummer) great-great Grandmother, and the girl on the tray inlay is his Grandmother. We have no idea who the family on the cover are. After Tim had the initial idea for the cover, he showed us an image as an example. The image really stood out. It’s just a weird and slightly creepy shot, and the mother and the father look pretty much identical. In most of the old shots we looked at most people look either nervous or terrified. We thought it went with the theme of the record so it stayed. Don’t ask where the Bear came from.
Is there a favorite song on the album for Buckley Ward, and if so why?
I don’t think we have a communal favorite. I’m pretty sure everyone has different favorites. It’s the same with people who have given us feedback on the record. Some people’s favorite song is others people’s least favorite. It’s weird like that, different people take it different ways. That does make choosing a single tricky though. My personal favorite is “Ukulele” just because it reminds me of when and where I wrote it. I was working on Cocos Island, which is exactly what I imagined a remote tropical island to be like. It was my birthday and I was essentially spending it alone in paradise. I had a ukulele with me and I just wrote the song as the sun set. When I hear it I remember being there very clearly, and how I felt. Somewhere between lonely and contented, a great headspace for writing songs.
Finally what’s next for Buckley Ward, any tours coming up?
We’re launching our album in Melbourne on the 8th of August at the Curtin Bandroom and in Sydney on the 15th at the Excelsior Hotel. We’ve never played in Sydney before so we’re pretty excited. We’re also starting our next record at the end of September, which is also very exciting. We’re hoping to have something ready before Christmas.
Get your free download of ‘Something in the Night’ from
