Basht. aren't mucking about. It was only last year that their lineup was fully solidified, but they're already bringing their debut album, 'Poor Advice', into the world.
With vocalist and guitarist Jack Leavey currently wandering around London with a camera strapped to him for an upcoming music video, Dork is chatting to the other three members of the Irish group. Huddled around guitarist Lughaidh Armstrong-Mayock's phone, the pace at which the group are moving sits nicely with the windswept look of the trio sat outside, waiting for their frontman to return.
Basht. was founded by Jack when he was looking for a backing band for a solo project. Upon meeting bassist Louis Christle, the pair realised there might be something more at play. "I had played with a couple of musicians in school, but I'd never really done it in a proper professional, paid gig, real-world scenario," Louis says, "so that's what appealed to me, and Jack was the same."
What interested the pair most about each other was their distinctly different influences and inspirations. "We wanted to pick each other's brains apart a bit and learn each other's kind of styles and influences," he recalls.
After releasing a handful of tracks and EPs, the pair realised something was missing. Their early material felt lightweight and compact compared to what they would go on to make, so they found themselves contacting Lughaidh.
He initially joined as a session musician when Basht. were touring, but the trio hit it off so much that soon he was writing with Jack and Louis. "We all had a similar idea of where to go direction-wise, and it felt like a good fit," Lughaidh remembers. "And then I guess Ryan here was the missing part of the puzzle. He became a permanent fixture a few months after me," he nods to drummer Ryan McClelland on his right.
The band see Ryan completing the lineup last year as the moment Basht. really took off. Ryan had known Lughaidh for a while, so when Basht. were in the market for a drummer, he got the call immediately.
"It was exciting meeting another two who had their own taste, so when we all came together, there were small overlaps stylistically, but we were all really excited to bring our own flavours together and make them cohesive," Louis says of the four coming together.
With the two pairs of collaborators now gelling as a four-piece, the chemistry quickly took hold. So much so, here they are with Dork discussing their debut album a mere year later.
“A trait that I love about all of these Irish bands is that they are eclectic”
'Poor Advice' is the sound of something becoming greater than the sum of its parts. There's an urgency to the music; it's an expanded vision of what Basht. started out as. But one thing it is not is overwrought.
After deciding to embark upon an album, it was all systems go. Trouble was, they were also touring at the same time, so 'Poor Advice' was written across soundchecks, jam sessions, and every available moment, which lends itself to the lightning-in-a-bottle vibe of the entire project.
Lughaidh refers to it as "not particularly calculated".
The trio liken it to throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks. "There was a few particular directions we all really agreed on," he continues, "and then other things that might have bled in in different ways."
With everything written, they headed to the studio with producer Ali Chant, where the songs began to take shape. Rather than overthinking things or letting the four-piece gestate for even longer, they wanted to take what they had written and forge it into something that felt distinctly Basht..
"You can have songs for years, and they can grow stale, you can get sick of them, so it definitely was an interesting process and kept things exciting, which I really enjoyed," Lughaidh explains, as his bandmates nod in agreement.
This has worked in their favour. For Ryan, the process has boosted his confidence in both himself and the band. "It's definitely taught me to trust my intuition, I'd say the lads would say the same because when you're creating ideas on the fly and there's deadlines you can get in your head, but the fact that we did it in that way and it's been met with the positive reception at the gigs, it encourages you to trust your gut a little bit more."
For now, Basht. are the strongest version of themselves they've been. But they want more. They're keen to "level up", as they put it. What the future holds is unwritten; the only thing they know for certain is that they want to keep pushing.
Basht. aren't particularly interested in where they fit within a genre. That makes sense for a group going hell-for-leather at having a go at a little bit of everything. Instead, they're keenly aware of the scene they're emerging from.
“We’re moving away from guitar music or straight down the line rock music”
With up-and-comers like Cardinals, Gurriers and NewDad among its ranks, Basht. see the Irish scene as similarly less genre-driven, instead rooted in something a little harder to define.
"It's just working hard," Louis says. "There isn't something that all these bands have in common; they just gig as much as they can and write as much as they can. They're constantly moving forward and trying to expand their sound and step out of their comfort zone a bit; they're kind of the unifying traits of all."
Ryan sees it similarly. "Ireland's such a small place as well, so a lot of these bands are aware of each other, and they all want the best for each other. We feel very proud to be part of that, and there's such a mix of influences within that scene."
"A trait that I love about all of these Irish bands that are coming up is that they are eclectic," he continues. "They might fit into a genre, but each record has a little bit of a different flavour. I feel like a lot of the Irish music has elements of all these different genres, even if you're not directly considering it when you're writing your music, you're being informed by it. You're hanging out with people that are making hip-hop, you're hanging out with people that are playing jazz, it's a cool mix of people to be in."
All of which explains why they're insistent they don't want to box themselves in. So much so that with the album cut 'Terror TV', they found its initial form was just a bit too plain. "It's the most down-the-middle punk-rock song, and it was very hard to try and bring something new to it," Lughaidh admits. Louis adds, "It was such a simple song in its core that it threw us off so much. We were almost overthinking its simplicity."
Certainly, they fit that all-encompassing post-punk bill, but that would do the more immediate, melodious indie elements a disservice. That's not to mention these live alongside the electronic flourishes that often pulsate through their songs.
"We're definitely getting a lot more into layering up and moving away from guitar music or straight down the line rock music," Lughaidh says. "We definitely want to expand into many different territories, particularly regarding the atmosphere of the sounds. I feel like the album is a bit more cinematic in scope."
As for moving forward, they're certain they want to give themselves a little more time. They want to let the ideas breathe and see what else they can uncover that makes them all tick.
Basht. are off to the races now. 'Poor Advice' is their first attempt at figuring out just how far the four of them can push each other, and they already have their sights set on taking that further. If album two gets bigger, stranger and more ambitious, that's the point. For now, they're still figuring out exactly what Basht. can be - and, judging by 'Poor Advice', that's probably where they're at their most interesting.
Basht.'s album 'Poor Advice' is out now.
