Bryanna Bennett is the vocalist of one of the most exciting new hardcore bands on the planet. And as Buggin’s profile continues to grow, they reveal how they’re using their voice – in more ways than one…
A musical subculture that for years thrived on physical interaction – from circle-pits to tape trading – hardcore punk has now largely migrated online. Putting social media in the hands of punks lovers inclined to form communities might’ve lowered barriers to bands getting noticed, but it’s arguably harder than ever for them to do the same in person.
Not that this has stopped Buggin throwing themselves into what they do, both live and on record. Formed in 2018 by a group of friends from Chicago who wanted to give their local scene “a new sound”, in the words of Bryanna Bennett, the vocalist and their bandmates have accomplished a lot more than that already. Debut album Concrete Cowboys recently swept through the punk press to critical acclaim, while they’re currently on their first European tour.
Bryanna joins K! on Zoom from their home in Philadelphia, where they’ve lived since 2020. It’s a bright Tuesday afternoon and they’re being asked to recall their experiences of discovering hardcore punk and navigating their way to finding their voice as one quarter of Buggin.
“Incendiary’s Force Of Neglect was one of the first things I heard and I was like, ‘Oh, shit! They’re talking about some real-ass shit here… I’m not going to get that from any other genre,’” they remember. “It seemed that the controlled chaos of everything in those rooms [at hardcore shows] was just like…” They switch back to the voice of their excited younger self. “‘This is really it!’”
As commanding a presence onstage as they are engaging off it, Bryanna’s first hardcore show typifies the determination that powers Buggin’s music.
“I was 14 and my dad took me! He was like, ‘This is in a bar, you can’t go here by yourself…’” A year later at the Life & Death tour, Bryanna “tried to mosh for the first time, after practising in my bedroom… I got my ass whooped (laughs). I didn’t have any idea how it worked, really. I remember thinking, ‘That was fucked up, but kinda awesome.’
“I have a special place in my heart for kids that are coming to our shows with their parents,” they add. “I really love when that happens, because I wouldn’t be talking to you here today if my dad didn’t take me to shows when I was younger.”
While the pandemic nixed plans for Buggin’s first international tour in 2020, Bryanna and their bandmates – guitarist Peyton Roberts, bassist Dewey Hendrik and drummer Michael Rasmussen – turned their attention to writing and recording. EPs Brainfreeze and Buggin Out (the band’s original name) followed, before Concrete Cowboys arrived in June. Typically its songs are about empowerment and overcoming adversity, but the band are unafraid to show their goofy side, too.
When asked about anything related to Buggin – their lyrics, their music, what they want to convey – Bryanna’s answers tend to feature the world “authentic”. They’re also acutely aware of the profile they have, both as a singer in a band and as an individual, now that Buggin have built an audience.
“We’re not old, but in the context of [young fans] who are coming to see us, it’s like ‘Oh, these are the people who are going to look up to what we’re doing and try to emulate that,’” they say. “The way I look at it, I’m trying to do things that are as authentically me as I can… We’re not trying to follow any specific trends or guide.
“I think the best thing in life is to just be you and be as authentically true to yourself as possible. Why would I pretend to be something I’m not?”
This leads to a sensitive line of questioning. Bryanna is Black, queer and non-binary, something that influences Buggin’s music but neither defines the vocalist nor their band. A song on Concrete Cowboys, Not Yours, lambasts the lazy labels some people have attached to Buggin because of Bryanna, which in turn has… led to more people asking them about it.
Bryanna nods and smiles when they’re asked if they’re aware of the irony of this. “Yeah, definitely… I wrote Not Yours because I don’t want people to throw us on a list.
“I think the reason Buggin is so important to me and to writing the way that I do is that I want to show there are people who are Black and who are queer who just want to make music,” they explain. “Not everything has to be about the terrible things I’ve experienced in my life. I know these things have happened, but I also I know it’s important that people can have a space where they just say ‘Fuck that’ and forget about it. I’m here to have fun, like everybody else.”
And there’s plenty of fun to be had on Concrete Cowboys, too. Asked about which band member throws out a cacophonous burp at the end of the gleeful Snack Run – a song which requires absolutely no explanation – it turns out that even Buggin’s belches have been carefully considered.
“We recorded a bunch of them!” Bryanna laughs. “Me and Michael chugged fizzy drinks in the booth, because I feel like sometimes when you force a burp, you don’t get your best burp. That was a very important part of the record, too!”
Buggin’s debut album Concrete Cowboys is out now via Flatspot Records
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