Interview with St. Buryan: ‘We’re the kings of the bridge!’

Newcastle-based band St. Buryan brought out their latest single ‘Torn Apart’ last week. a thumping track with satisfying licks and a frenetic rhythm.

Formed as a passion project by friends drummer Rhys Melhuish, lead guitarist Callum Palmer and singer Ben Mackett, they’ve been joined by Nathan Gooch on rhythm guitar and backing vocals and bassist Jacob Mallon.

‘We were tagged on a Twitter post about St. Buryan cows but that’s not who we are!’

They are named after Mackett’s street, St. Buryan Crescent, which sometimes has hilarious consequences. ‘There’s a place in Cornwall called St. Buryan, which we didn’t know at the start,’ said Mackett, laughing. ‘We just thought the name sounded cool. We were like, that’ll do, aye. We were tagged on a Twitter post about St. Buryan cows but that’s not who we are!’

Mackett and Melhuish are the main songwriters in the band. Melhuish describes their songs as being ‘mostly hypothetical – mine, at least’. ‘This one (‘Torn Apart’) is based on something real, though. I was having a spat with my girlfriend – the song is a more exaggerated version of that, it has a dramatic vibe. Nathan wrote the opening guitar line. He’d had it for ages, we always said we needed to write something around it.’

‘Torn Apart’ essentially navigates the complex emotional state of jaded lovers as they explosively pick each other apart over insignificant nothings. Neither side backs down as they clash in a battle of stinging words and ‘he said, she said’s’.

Interestingly, ‘Torn Apart’ was the first song that the whole band wrote together in the studio in its current line-up, according to Melhuish: ‘Our other songs have all been live tested but this one was recorded before we even played it live.’ They recorded it in July last year and it formed part of Mackett’s final Masters project in Leeds.

‘Not as many stories are told about the person who does the break-up’

‘Torn Apart’ is written from the perspective of the person ending the relationship: ‘Not as many stories are told about the person who does the break-up, although obviously it’s painful for them, maybe not as painful as for the person being broken up with,’ Melhuish said. ‘They’re my lyrics but the story is more hypothetical. The lyrics are sad but the music is happier.’

As the song goes: ‘We’ve torn apart the space in the middle of our bed that’s cold and my head that’s brittle, and we go to war when everything falls to bits and you ask me: “Is that it?” It makes me feel so small, talking for hours but saying nothing at all.’

Earlier this year, they released ‘How Could I Know’ about the turbulent climax of a relationship that’s over, which like ‘Torn Apart’, has a massive hooky chorus: ‘That’s all we’ve ever wanted to do,’ Mackett said. ‘We’re the kings of the bridge [laughs], we think you should get through the verses quickly and make the bridge even catchier.’ Melhuish interjects: ‘If the song’s not catchy, what’s the point?’

The bleak lyrics are offset by the high energy melody: ‘Fighting to stay awake on the last bus home, battered and bruised, broken and used, driving away from a love that I’ve outgrown, from someone I once knew.’

However, the song went through several incarnations, according to Melhuish: I had the lyrics to it in 2018 or the base of what that song is but we chopped and changed it loads. We knew the chorus was class but the rest didn’t sit right.’

‘Tell Me’, another single which was released earlier this year, was written by their former stand-in bassist and encompasses bright synths and groove-ridden basslines: ‘We pulled that together, his lyrics and that lovely, lovely bridge.’ The song is basically about another failed relationship and the bitter protesting of an ex-partner lashing out after the respectful rejection of a one-night-stand. I tell them I am seeing a pattern and they both laugh. ‘Yeah, we need to stop writing about break-ups!,’ Melhuish said.

They have very diverse musical tastes. Mackett is a fan of Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen and South Korean group Twice. Melhuish, for his part, likes everything from The 1975 to Queen, Aerosmith and Mika, a Lebanese-born British recording singer-songwriter, who he went to see in France shortly before lockdown. ‘We like a lot of different things,’ Mackett said. Melhuish jumps in: ‘And it shows.’

At this point, Mackett has to leave for a meeting, so Melhuish starts telling me about how he used to present a radio show showcasing new music in the north east in his student days. His love of music is palpable as he reels off local bands that he loves: Little Comets, Sam Fender and Club Paradise, who he describes as ‘if you take The 1975 and time travelled them to the 80’s, that’s what you’d get – they have great melodies and hooks’. He also mentions PICNIC, a colourful, sax-driven, funk-pop from neighbouring Sunderland: ”When I heard their debut single (‘Stop The Fall’), I played it for days on end. They’re so catchy, they’ll be with you for days!’

‘Everyone’s getting inspired by the ripple effect’

The music scene in Newcastle and the surrounding area has always been there but was perhaps not as apparent as today, Melhuish thinks. ‘There was a big boom 15-20 years ago with The Futureheads, Little Comets etc. but then there was a bit of a lull. But in the last three years, with The Pale White, Sam Fender and Jodie Nicholson, it’s picked up a lot. It’s quite saturated at the minute but everyone’s getting inspired by the ripple effect. It’ll just keep going.’

They began the year by playing the sold-out re-opening of The Little Buildings, christening a much-beloved local venue together with another local band, Swine Tax, before supporting Dunfermlines’ Dancing On Tables in Newcastle during their (currently suspended) UK tour. They have also shared the stage with bands such as Flyte and The Lottery Winners.

‘Supporting Dancing On Tables was our last gig in March, just a week or so before lockdown,’ Melhuish said. ‘I saw them play with The Go Signals in November last year. Me and my girlfriend absolutely love them. The guys arranging the gig gave the support gig to us when we asked about it. The band were happy to crack on and give us tips about life and music. We joked that they stole their ‘Tell Me’ from us (they’re two completely different songs)!’

If he could tour with anyone, Melhuish picks Mika: ‘It would have to be him, if we had an opportunity to follow him around the world,’ he said. ‘He’s so under appreciated, he doesn’t get the attention he deserves. It’s fascinating hearing how he writes his songs and he does cook-alongs on Instagram. He seems like such a lovely guy, we’d have the time of our lives!’

(Photo from left to right: Rhys, Jacob, Nathan and Callum. Ben is centre front.)