Interview: Reckless Coast Chat About Their Latest Single, ‘Burn Street’

Meanjin/Brisbane-based indie-rock band Reckless Coast have returned with their spirited single ‘Burn Street‘ – produced by Cody McWaters (The Chats, King Stingray) and mixed by Jono Frowd. We caught up with the band to get some insight into the new track, motivations and more!

Loving the new song! Could you share some insights into the specific moments or experiences that have shaped the narrative of ‘Burn Street’? How did these experiences shape the overall narrative of the upcoming EP?

There are 3 specific moments that I can say guided ‘Burn Street’:

• The Burn Street Movie Nights
  When I describe the share house to others, that’s the first thing that I tell them about. Every Sunday, a different housemate would pick the movie. To me, that was so wholesome and I’ve never had anything close to that anywhere since. It’s something so small and simple, but it made us like a little family and taught me that it’s the people, not the place, that make it a home.They were the best people anyone could ever ask to live with, and they made me feel like I belonged there… which, to someone like me who had only just moved out of their childhood home, meant the world.
• ‘Betty’

The couple we lived with owned a dog called ‘Betty’. At that time of my life, I was still searching for work and I was at home a lot. ‘Betty’ was my friend that kept me company during these early days of figuring out life by myself… she was also the first dog I lived with in 10 years since my family’s dog back home, who passed away when I was 10 or so. Her presence in that share house made life so nice and I’ve missed her dearly since leaving. It was just another aspect of that place that made ‘Burn Street’ such a core and special part of my life.

• The Room in Paddington
  This is what finally triggered the song to be written. Roughly two years later I was living in a share house in Paddington. My bedroom had windows that wouldn’t close properly, it was constantly dusty with a low hanging ceiling and minimal light… like living in a terribly renovated, derelict wooden basement.

I was changing guitar strings at the time, and the first thing I played afterwards was the riff for ‘Burn Street’… it just came out as a random lick to test the tuning.

I had always wanted to write a song called Burn Street, but it always ended up as a passing thought. I don’t know if it was me hating the situation I was in at the time, missing the ‘Burn Street’ share house, or what it was… but when that random riff came out, a voice in my head just said “that’s Burn Street”, and it all flowed from there.

‘Burn Street’ is from our upcoming EP ‘Naked & Famous’, which, funnily enough, sort of reflects the progress of developing my life in Brisbane from day 1 until now. The ‘Burn Street’ narrative is all about missing home and the “coming of age” to make life your own. It’s the perfect single to lead into the EP because it reflects those first moments of figuring out my life in Brisbane, and each song, to an extent, is inspired by time-stamps of figuring out or dealing with moments of my life over the last few years.

How does this release’s themes and sounds evolve from those of your previous singles?

A: It’s way more emotional. All my writing has a deeper meaning or moral, under the guise of a Rock ‘n’ Roll tune. But this song clearly lays its heart on the table for everyone to see. It’s also more ballad-esque in comparison to the usual high-energy material we release.

What do you hope listeners will take away from listening to ‘Burn Street’?

A: Home isn’t the structure. It’s the people in it.

Who are your current musical influences and which artists are inspiring your most current projects?

A:  As I’m writing this, I’ve come off the 4th playthrough of Marcus King’s ‘Mood Swings’ album. That man is incredible; always evolving and this new album is flowing with emotion. ‘Delilah’ destroyed me, that chorus hits my soul.

Funnily enough though, the artist inspiring me the most in terms of songwriting is Tyler Childers.  His lyricism changed my view of songwriting, and it clearly shows in the material I’m writing now.

What is the greatest motivation factor for Reckless Coast?

A: People saying Rock Music is a dead genre or no longer popular. It’s not dead, it’s just tired. Keith Richards once said “Everyone talks about rock these days; the problem is they forget about the roll” and that ideology is what kicked off the Reckless Coast idea… Rock ‘n’ Roll that has that groove, energy and euphoria that fits into a modern climate, without sounding like a band that’s already happened.

Q6. Looking ahead, what does the future hold for Reckless Coast? Are there any future projects or collaborations in the works?

A: We want to go to our British roots so badly. British Rock has always inspired India and me. She was even born there!

We’d love to tour or play the festival circuit in Europe. You can hear British inspiration in our tracks, so it would be amazing to take that to the next level and actually be amongst that scene so we can bring some of that energy home.

Closer on the horizon, however, we will be touring Australia for our ‘Naked & Famous’ EP. It’s happening all through May with dates spanning down the East Coast of Australia. We just supported The Southern River Band on their ‘Stan Qualen Tour’ QLD dates, so we’re ready to get back into it.

RECKLESS COAST

‘BURN STREET’ EAST COAST TOUR

Tickets available via www.recklesscoast.com

SAT 4 MAY | THE CATFISH, NAARM/MELBOURNE VIC
FRI 10 MAY | ELSEWHERE, YUGAMBEH/GOLD COAST QLD
SAT 11 MAY | TOMCAT, MEANJIN/BRISBANE QLD
FRI 24 MAY | MOSHPIT, EORA/SYDNEY NSW
SAT 25 MAY | STAG AND HUNTER, MULUBINBA/NEWCASTLE NSW