Basht.: "It’s just our nature – Irish people question authority, and we’ve always had the ability to put two fingers up to it"

There is, as Basht.’s Jack Leavey observes, “a strong, collective ‘fuck you’” permeating through Irish music right now – a defiance, and a shrugging off of long-established authority figures, heard everywhere from CMAT’s takedown of “the Berties” and “the envelopes”, to Fontaines D.C. calling out “the gall of Fine Gael and the fail of Fianna Fáil.”

“CMAT really cleverly calls out the generations of politicians we’ve had in this country that have let people down,” Jack nods. “It’s just our nature – Irish people question authority, and we’ve always had the ability to put two fingers up to it.”

It’s a spirit that Basht. have tapped into too, on their powerful debut album, Poor Advice, out this month via UK-based independent label LAB Records. The project follows two EPs, high-profile support slots for the likes of Wunderhorse and Miles Kane, millions of streams, and some notable line-up changes for the Irish four-piece – now made up of vocalist/guitarist Jack Leavey, drummer Ryan McClelland, bassist Louis Christle, and lead guitarist Lughaidh Armstrong Mayock.

The album’s title is a reference to the moral advice dished down to all of us as we grow up, from various sources – and questioning those authority figures “a little bit more than you’re probably expected to.”

“That theme just kept coming up, in different ways,” Jack resumes. “And then eventually it was like, ‘Okay, lean into that, and really ask yourself, what do you think about it?’ It was like lifting logs in the field, and seeing what’s underneath – and just pushing yourself further down that hole.”

It was a line of thought that first began to emerge during long periods on tour.

“You spend a lot of time in your own head,” says the singer. “You’re sitting in the van, looking out the window, taking the world in. Even being in different places around Europe, you’re constantly being reminded about the history of everything – and then you’re drawing comparisons from that to the modern day.”

He also found himself exploring the juxtaposition between biblical imagery and the modern world.

“There’s definitely a subconscious influence there,” he says of the Church. “From growing up, learning prayers in primary school, and then going to Mass in secondary school. The biblical stories I always find quite interesting, especially the Old Testament stuff.”

Tracks like ‘Terror TV’ and ‘Circadia’ address the violence that continues to rage around the world – with the latter directly influenced by the genocide in Gaza.

“As a band, we feel very strongly about that, and we wanted to communicate it,” Jack notes. “But we also wanted it to not just be representative of one moment of time. Every conflict like that – that has happened, or will happen – it’s about injustice and oppression.”

‘Terror TV’ also stretches back to those long drives in the van, staring down at a phone screen. You see a horrendous video and it doesn’t even register that it’s a real event that actually happened,” he reflects. “That level of desensitisation that we’re experiencing is indicative of how we, as a culture, are just being numbed by it all.”

But as drummer Ryan McClelland notes, the world of Poor Advice is more nuanced than those heavy topics might suggest – offering up “different things with different listens.”

Recorded with Ali Chant ((known for his work with the likes of PJ Harvey and Perfume Genius), it’s the first collection of new songs that all four of the band’s current members have worked on together. Ryan and Lughaidh are the most recent recruits, with both having previously played together in genre-blending Irish band Sky Atlas.

While still informed by a classic rock ‘n’ roll spirit – and influences like Lou Reed, Paul Banks and Ian Curtis – the line-up changes have allowed Basht. to continue expanding their sonic world.

Credit: Patricia Rosingana

“Myself and Lughaidh have been working together for a long time and gel very well,” Ryan remarks. “And obviously Jack and Louis Christle have been doing this project for a bit longer, and they have their own relationship. So it was nice having those little combos already exist. But it’s been a real melting pot, all of us, together.

“The Sky Atlas stuff was coming from a different genre again, but I was always a rock drummer growing up. It feels like I’ve finally arrived at a nice home for all of my influences – and everyone has space in this project to really be themselves.”

It’s an approach that has clearly resonated with listeners – with young, emerging bands already citing Basht. as influences.

“That’s a bit surreal,” Louis Christle says. “It only feels like yesterday that I would’ve been openly citing bands that I’d now consider my contemporaries as influences. But now we’re all sort of in the same boat, and on the same path. So for us as a group to be cited as influences just feels very cool – and very flattering.”

On their own way up, Basht. have also been shown plenty of love by established acts, including Wunderhorse.

“And Gurriers – they’ve been great for a bit of knowledge here and there, or advice,” Jack tells me. “They’ve really been part of cultivating that Irish scene.”

Although, as Ryan acknowledges, there is an undeniable overseas media fascination with Irish bands right now, he also points out that, at the end of the day, seeing that “your peers are also having success” can only be a good thing.

“It’s an amazing moment – all this homegrown talent getting international recognition, and really leaning into their Irishness. That’s what makes me proud – that they’re not shying away from it. And everyone wants each other to succeed, and to lift each other up.”

“The Irish music scene is very small anyway,” Lughaidh adds. “So everyone gets to know each other pretty quick. And a lot of people bounce around different bands. My housemates are in the band Theatre. And Jake [Brennan] who used to drum for Basht. was in the band Brooki as well. There’s a lot of different members crossing over, so it’s very friendly in that way.”

The fact that Basht. are now gearing up for a headline show at the Button Factory – which sold out months before fans even had their hands on the band’s full-length debut – is particularly special for Jack.

“My dad used to run it when it was the [Temple Bar] Music Centre back in the day,” he says of the venue. “I grew up going in and out of that place, for gigs and stuff, as a kid. The fact that it’s now where we’re doing our headline show – and it’s sold out – is a real full-circle moment.”

That’s not to say that Basht. are resting on their laurels just yet, however. Although Poor Advice has yet to be released at the time of our conversation, they tell me they can’t wait to “get back in a creative groove” again, for Album No. 2.

“After this, I’m going to meet a guy off Adverts, to buy a ‘90s drum machine,” Louis reveals. “I’ve been listening to a lot of ‘90s house and ‘80s techno, from Detroit. All those older sounds I’ve been loving a lot lately. It’s mad to think there are literally millions of different ways to sequence or play or present drums.”

So a Basht. techno album next?

“Well, we have a couple weeks off now,” Louis laughs. “So they’ll either love or hate what I bring to them, come end of September!”

• Poor Advice is out now. Following a run of UK shows, Basht. headline the Button Factory, Dublin on November 7