The Burbs Talk New Single, Musical Influences And More

Surf rock sensations The Burbs have released their new single ‘Ladder To The Moon’. They discussed a variety of topics here including the new single, their musical influences and more:

How long have you been writing/playing/performing for?

We’ve all played music since we were young. We got together and started doing shows as The Burbs in 2016. A lot of the music on ‘Sunlight Spills Across The Swimming Pool’ was from around this time.

How would you describe your music to someone who hasn’t heard it before?

Rock music for everyone in the backseat to sing along to.

Your new song has just been released. What’s it about? Is there a story, or the message behind it? What’s the inspiration behind it?

With Ladder To The Moon, I’d just had a friend pass away and had to get some words out. Its a nostalgic recounting of our time spent together as well as a reflection on not getting to say goodbye properly. It’s this simple five chord song, but the band brought it to life in a way that was interesting enough to take to the studio.

Can you tell us more about the lyric?

The opening verse refers to playing as kids in the bunkroom. ‘Built a ladder to the moon. Hope you made it, come back soon’ – its a snapshot memory of the fond times we’d had growing up together. The second verse is a jump to the present, and refers to a eulogy and a memorial plaque, and closes with the line ‘since we’re in the future now it shouldn’t be so dark’. We had filled each other with so much hope over the years… it was a hard pill to swallow.

How do go about go about creating your music? Is there a specific process for your songwriting?

We have a keyboard and a robot vacuum cleaner inside a rabbit cage down the sunny end of the house and we sit round reading fashion magazines while we wait for our tune to arrive.

Do you follow a formula when you write?

We begin strictly with the robot vacuum cleaner in the chicken pen, but after that its total chaos.

What else inspires you?

Sonic Energy, taxidermy, Cheese World, the Otway panther, and our videographer sensation and backflip king Loic Gaulier.

Who are your favourite music artists or musical influences?

VOIID, Dinosaur Beard, Select All, Something Krook, and Happy New Year by Deloris.

How would you describe your vocal/musical style to someone who has not heard you sing before?

Loose.

Do you like performing live?

We’ve been known to enjoy it, sometimes too much.

Do you like recording?

We love it and hope that someday one of us will marry the owner of a wonderfully large and successful recording studio.

What do you hope to achieve with your music?

We want to usher in a new wave of decent and real music cos music fans deserve it and have waited long enough.

Have any elements of your personal background influenced your music?

For sure, visions of ripped jeans and used-to-death skateboards, urban myths, street hangouts, feeling too grimy for a surf town yet too different for the city.

Is there anything about your musical or personal history that you feel is important for your audiences to know?

Yeah, we’d just like to say that there’s no truth to the rumour Danny rides a RipStik as his main mode of transportation.

What do you believe makes you stand out as an artist?

Taste and work ethic. And there’s a signature thing we do where we all beat our chests and make gorilla noises – I don’t think that any other bands are doing this yet.

What are your plans regarding future releases?

We’ll drop a further couple of singles this year and then see how much we can get out next year.

What are your long-term musical/creative goals?

We want to be involved in shaping the type of music that becomes popular over the next decade.

What has been the best part of your musical experiences so far?

Touring up the East Coast with friends.

What has been the highpoint of your musical life/career?

Getting to play alongside some of our heroes like Elephant Gun, Vasco Era and Dinosaur Beard, and getting to know those guys. And getting to record at Sing Sing, which has a rich history within the Australian music scene.