BackBurn's new EP promises to blow open Naarm's rock scene

Backburn is a five-piece hard rock force hailing from Frankston, channeling the grit and soul of ‘90s alt-rock with a modern edge. Drawing sonic parallels to Alice In Chains, Soundgarden and Audioslave, they craft a sound that’s equal parts heavy, hypnotic, and heartfelt. Blending the rawness of grunge with the weight of hard rock and metal, Backburn delivers stripped-back, drop-tuned riffs, emotionally charged vocals that swing from a whisper to a wail, and a rhythm section that’s tight, dynamic, and impossible to ignore. With their debut EP approaching and singles like “Regular Guy” and “The Butterfly” already turning heads, we had to find out what's on the horizon.

Congrats on hitting the first release cycle in BackBurn's history! What did it take to get to this point? 

For us, the creative process was broken into parts. First Dan, Travis and Dave Mills came together to create the riffs and meld them into the basic song arrangements. Once that process was complete, Adam added drums before Dave Body wrote vocal melodies and lyrics to complete each track. Then came months of rehearsal to get them to a standard where we felt comfortable to take the tracks to Jason Fuller of Goatsound for production. We were extremely happy with the result.

The new EP, 'Point Of Ignition', releases only a few weeks from now - what type of themes does this set of tracks deal with and what should listeners be paying the most attention to?

Point of Ignition touches on multiple different themes- but broadly is a reflection on society as a whole, as well as dealing with personal struggles and mental battles.

We spoke in the past about the equity-focused approach that booking agents are taking with bands of all ages. Would you say that being among the older demographic of bands is without its own challenges? 

Personally I don't believe we've experienced age bias through the booking process as of yet, but that said we are aware that we are more towards the entry level of this industry. Possibly being older could go against us further up the tree in getting signed or backed but I'm only speculating at this point in time. 

You have two events (Sep 5 BOTB + Sep 6 Young St.) coming up back-to-back before the release of 'Point Of Ignition'. It's like the workload never stops in the release schedule, huh?

We are super excited to be playing these upcoming shows! The Battle of The Bands semi-final at sound-bar was a result of us winning our first heat in the competition, so... we had no idea that show would fall the day before our show with the muddy lemons at Young Street tavern. That said it makes for an epic weekend and we pride ourselves on bringing an amazing live performance so expect fireworks!

What big plans are in BackBurn's near future with the release of 'Point Of Ignition'?

Plans are to keep on the grind, keep writing new material and bring it all together for a new album and live shows. Hopefully as we gain more traction with our songs and reputation for great live gigs - bigger things will follow. We'd just like to thank everyone who supports original music in Australia. We have some amazing talent in this country and we appreciate anyone who helps shine a light on it.

Pre-save Backburn's new EP here.