Sydney’s The Buoys release their second album, Concrete Cowboy, this Friday, 23 October. It follows 2024’s Lustre, which debuted at #7 on the ARIA Australian Albums Chart and earned a J Award nomination for Australian Album of the Year.
Produced again by Chris Collins, the new record was shaped by frontwoman Zoe Catterall’s move back to her hometown after nearly a decade in the city. Its influences run from Adrianne Lenker and The Beths to ’80s cult films and Roman poetry. The band launch the album tour in Sydney on release day, before supporting Foo Fighters at Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium on 12 November.
We caught up with Zoe to talk about the album’s title, learning to unmask, bread and circuses, and the rainy days that changed two of its songs.
Concrete Cowboy is an intriguing album title. Where did it come from, and what does it mean to you?
Aw thank you! We were in the studio together when our producer Chris Collins said the phrase. We’d just been talking about the themes of the album, which were largely influenced by me having moved back to my hometown after living in the city for nearly 10 years, so when Chris said it, it just clicked. Living at that city pace is insanely hard to keep up with when you’re more the recluse-in-nature type. Concrete Cowboy summed up perfectly what it felt like to be someone from a quiet, bushy town trying to keep pace in the city.
You’ve described “too many tabs open” as the heartbeat of the album, and “Welcome To My Brain” feels like an invitation into that cluttered headspace. What were the tabs you couldn’t close while writing, and did the songs help you make sense of them?
Such a cool question. I’ve definitely always been the type to have too many tabs open. In the past that was the inability to stop working. Once I finally stopped, I had to wade through all of the things I pushed down or stored away because of how busy I was. Who am I if not a workaholic? Who am I if not a mother yet? Who am I if still single? Who am I now that I’m learning to unmask as an autistic woman?
Concrete Cowboy is a maaassive journey of self-discovery, but mostly self-love. I let all the parts of me come back in full, and had to learn to love each one bit by bit. The hardest part was probably knowing that inevitably, in becoming myself, not everyone in my life will like that version of me as much as Zoe with a mask on. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
You’ve said that sometimes you’re giving yourself the advice you want to hear, even when you think you’re writing for other people. Was there a song on this record where you realised you were actually talking to yourself?
“Pretenders” is one of those tracks. I was struggling to find my feet when I was learning to unmask, struggling to feel seen and heard by those around me, so I was writing about that. But over time the song has developed a new meaning to me. Now when I listen to it, it’s almost as if I was writing to myself, telling myself to slow down, stay honest, and open my heart up again after feeling a bit disconnected and lonely.
In “Pretenders” you sing, “I love you and all your flaws / Why can’t you seem to love mine?” and later, “You shut me out because you know it hurts”. With those driving guitars, it feels like you’re demanding answers that aren’t coming. Is it about being tired of trying to make things right on your own?
You hit the nail on the head. It’s very much an anthem for those one-sided relationships, where you do everything in your power to make it work, and you’re met with nothing but a brick wall.
That vulnerability sits alongside the sheer attitude of “Bitch” and “Kill You Back”, which have confronting starting points but plenty of humour and mischief. Is humour an effective way of dealing with anger or difficult experiences?
I will say I do love a dark comedy! Using humour to dissect anger in art is so fun, and I’m always up for a bit of mischief. I think when it comes to difficult experiences, though, it’s a mixed bag and a read-the-room situation.
“Alone In Vegas” imagines a continuation of the story from the film Desert Hearts. What made you want to write those characters a future? And does writing through fictional characters give you a different kind of freedom?
I’m a sucker for an open ending. I looove imagining all the possibilities, so I just had to imagine them getting married and living happily ever after. Writing songs from other people’s (even characters’) perspectives has always been a really fun way to write. I love love songs, so using their story I was able to scratch that itch of writing a gooey love song.
“Stay Up To Date On Politics” is a great title for a song about wanting to escape. How do you balance caring about the world with protecting your own headspace?
I have to be very careful about how I consume media. At the end of the day I feel things very deeply, and I’ve had to learn how to care for that part of myself. I have separate social media accounts, for example, that are strictly for following news sources. That way, when I’m on my personal account, knowing I’m in the mood for liking my friends’ photos, I’m less likely to see heavy news material that I was unable to mentally prepare for.
I’ve also worked out who the safe spaces in my life are to talk about the heavier stuff, which helps me move through the emotions that inevitably come up. I protest as much as I can, health willing, and I talk regularly with a therapist about the state of the world.
The influences behind the album range from Adrianne Lenker and The Beths to ’80s cult films, Roman poetry and dreams. Can you tell us about one unexpected influence that found its way into a song? We’re especially intrigued by the Roman poetry.
My version of rest must involve doing a lot of research (a common autistic experience, I’ve been told). So when I first stopped working to recover from burnout, I wanted to fill my knowledge gaps and learn about new things. When we got together as a band to write “Take It Over”, I’d told the band about a Roman poet called Juvenal and a line from one of his poems that really stuck with me, roughly translated to: “The people anxiously hope for just two things: bread and circuses.”
The poem was said to be a critique of people’s neglect of their role in society, using superficial means to distract themselves from everything falling apart. If the people were simply provided with food (bread) and circus (entertainment), they would be less likely to push back on unfairness in the world. That’s where the line “I bought the future of the life that I was sold” comes from. I think we all in some way bet on this future: if we just work hard enough, yadayadayada, we all get it. It was terrifying me at the time that you can work so hard and still not cover rent. It still terrifies me.
The choruses, where I sing “it’s time to take it over”, are from the perspective of those who are struggling to afford basic necessities, but also the things of enjoyment we all deserve, like entertainment. Ask any musician and they’ll tell you selling tickets is getting harder every year. People can’t afford it, and that’s such a shame when live music is such a source of joy.
You worked with Chris Collins again, alongside several co-writers. Was there a song that changed dramatically between the demo and the finished recording?
Yes! “Stay Up To Date On Politics” and “The Cloud” were both meant to be huge rock songs, and they mellowed out into the most beautiful, warm hugs ever. I was talking to Tess about this the other day and she pointed out that we recorded those in the last few days, and those last few days were really rainy. Chris’ studio has giant windows looking out into the bush (unheard of for studios to have windows!). I think we were transported by the rain to this new territory, and we love how they turned out.
The Buoys have a fantastic reputation as a live band, and you’re kicking off the tour in Sydney on release day before that enormous Foo Fighters show in Newcastle. Having seen you play, it’s always a joy. Which new songs are you most excited to unleash on an audience?
Oh my gosh, that’s so awesome! I’m sooo excited for everyone to hear “Take It Over” live. It’s been sounding huge in the rehearsal space and I reckon it will go off. Also super excited to play “Give Or Take”, since it wasn’t a single, so we get to give anyone in the crowd a taste of all the different sonic pathways we took on the album.
The Buoys Concrete Cowboy Album Tour
Presented by triple j
Ticket Information HERE
Wed 21 October – Altar Bar, HOBART, TAS
Fri 23 October – Crowbar, SYDNEY, NSW
Sat 24 October – The Brightside, BRISBANE, QLD
Sun 25 October – Jive, ADELAIDE, SA (licensed all ages)
Fri 30 October – Corner Hotel, MELBOURNE, VIC
Sat 31 October – Indian Ocean Hotel, PERTH, WA
Concrete Cowboy is out Friday 23 October – you can pre-save and pre-order it HERE.
Image supplied
