Jack Ryan & Alisdair Mahoney – We Burn Bridges ‘Getting Inside Head Prison’

Posted on May 14, 2019 by Tamara May

Darwin post-hardcore outfit We Burn Bridges are gearing up to release their long-awaited EP, Head Prison later this month. They’ve already dropped two singles, ‘Self-Drought’ and ‘Silhouettes’ and have just announced their EP launch show, set for the Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend, just to add the monster line-up of events the Top End sees this time of year. We sat down with vocalist Jack Ryan and guitarist Alisdair Mahoney to get the lowdown on their upcoming release.

How has the response been to ‘Self Drought’ so far?

Really good actually! We’ve had feedback from mates as well as people we don’t know as well. As it was our first official release, we didn’t really know what to expect, but we’re pretty stoked so far.

It’s been a while since you’ve dropped anything new. Your last single ‘One Punch’ was released way back in 2017. How come the long wait in between new music?

We had a few lineup changes. We also spent a lot of time on the backend side of things because we just wanted to make the sound as good as we can. We wanted to make sure the songs sound perfect to us, and it’s what we want fans to hear.

Let’s talk about the upcoming EP, titled Head Prison. How stoked are you to release this?

Super stoked, We recorded the entire EP at Masters Studio, then sent it down south to get it mixed. I cannot wait to release this and have more than just one song out. Hopefully it’ll have more people coming out to shows, they’ll know the lyrics, and have a good time.

Your music sheds some light on some all too important issues such as addiction and alcohol-related violence (2017’s single ‘One Punch’). What else can we expect to hear about on the EP when it’s released in May?

Besides the addiction side of it as well, there’s not really any other political side as such. ‘One Punch’ had a pretty clear politically-driven message. There’s nothing quite as direct as that though. Mental health and depression is addressed on the EP, that’s why it’s called Head Prison. Sometimes I have stuff stuck in my head and that’s just how I feel.

With lyrics it’s always been like I want it to be relatable, and I don’t want to sing a song that doesn’t mean something to me. So if it’s meaningful to me then I’m going to smash it out live every time. I feel like everyone goes through bouts of depression or anxiety so there’s a bit of that on the EP.

What goals can we hope for We Burn Bridges to smash out for the rest of the year?

Once the EP is out, we’re going to play a lot more shows, and hopefully some interstate shows!

Interview by Tamara May (@citylightsTAM)

Head Prison is out May 17th. Pre-Order here

If you happen to be in the Top End this Queen’s Birthday long weekend, We Burn Bridges are playing their EP launch on Sunday 9th June at Entrada Nightclub, Palmerston.