Basil's Kite - Shooting Tsars
10 Mar 2023 - Thorsten
Genre: Math-Core
Playfulness vs virtuosity. Fun vs ambition. Pensiveness vs looseness. All of these contrasts could be used to explain the sound of Eastern Australian Math-Core band Basil’s Kite. The guys from Down Under might end up On Top of many lists this year, for their new record Shooting Tsars is breathtaking and hits all the right spots! Therefore we are proud to give you a short interview with guitarist and vocalist Jack!! And even better – we serve this dish with the premiere for their new single ”Castaway”!
When talking to Jack, one has the impression of a typical Aussie sunny boy, and that not just because of the accent. Trying to adapt the stereotype of an optimistic nation and applying it to the genre of Math-Core might even help when listening to Shooting Tsars, because it becomes pretty clear early on – these guys mean business! Not in the negative sense but rather meaning that their version of highly-skilled, punctuous and on the spot Math-Core is not the most serious one, although if you dig deeper, you will notice that they do talk about serious topics. One of these is for example the former single ”Bak Vark” which deals with some pretty serious stuff that happened to Jack at school, and the way that these things have a tendency to be kept underneath the rug. But not with Basil’s Kite – they talk about it, show that things might be better now but one should not forget the past: ”Bury it all with me / and no one will be saved / let the heads roll”.
The musical scope of these guys seems nearly limitless as they are able to throw punches left and right all the time without taking a breath, but never aiming for the kill, but rather for the tickle. They have a great feeling for when the pace must be adjusted to make space for the lyrics and vice versa. This way they make sure that not only their brain-wrecking shifts and jumps (think The Fall of Troy playing songs by Botch) are being noticed but also the vocals which are also meant to cope with some bad experiences.
However, Basil’s Kite do not let these negative experiences from years past overshadow their present and future, as one can do something about the now and how we perceive and live it. Sometimes laughter and joy is an underappreciated element for our soul and they surely provide it when they quote and satirize the line made famous by Gwen Stefani ”This shit is bananas – B A N A N A S” into ”I shit my pyjamas – P Y J A M A S”! I love the guys for lines like these! And if you want to know more about what that Submariner-reference in ”Sun is Shining” is all about – listen to our interview below!
Shooting Tsars can be ordered via their own Bandcamp page - love it, buy it, never forget it. That’s what we do here. Maybe you too? Well, anyway, here is our special interview with Jack about the new record.
And now without any further ado and useless blabber from our side - here is “Castaway”