Hailing from Boston’s restless underground, Burn Kit emerges fierce and fiery, brandishing their debut EP, Fallen Rose, like a bouquet of barbed wire—beautiful, brutal, and laceratingly honest. The standout single, “High Spirits Don’t Live Here,” is a song that aches openly, confronting loss not merely as absence but as an all-consuming presence. Here, the band channels the melancholy of Joy Division’s desolate dystopia, Wire’s angular dread, and R.E.M.’s early existential jangle, spinning grief into a cathartic, darkly radiant anthem, that ignites with the punk fierocity of The Damned.
Directed by Austin Kranick, the video for the single inhabits a realm suspended between ceremony and sorrow—a frozen chapel in Dover, New Hampshire, a hearse unloading mourners into a desolate snowscape. Valentino prowls among gravestones, clutching wilting flowers, as guitarists Joshua and Frank carve atmospheres out of icy resonance, bassist Padraic anchors the track in subterranean gravity, and Andrew’s percussion pulses like a weary, wounded heart.
But despite these clear influences and meticulous arrangements, Burn Kit evades easy definition. On any given night of their relentless touring schedule, they’ve been tagged with every genre under the dim club lights—from post-punk and hardcore, to new wave and emo, and even, as one Polish listener earnestly claimed, grunge revived. In truth, Burn Kit wears all these badges with equal sincerity; their identity, fluid yet fiercely authentic, is a collective mirror reflecting each listener’s own memories and personal resonances.
In conversation with Post-Punk.com, Burn Kit opened up about the emotional truths behind their music, the haunting visuals accompanying their single, and the indefinable ethos driving their art.
“High Spirits Don’t Live Here” addresses themes of grief and loss. Could you elaborate on the inspiration behind this song?
As deeply personal as this song may sound, it originally wasn’t. When I write the lyrics, I listen to the music, and it gives me a vision. As I listened to my riffs, I envisioned a black-and-white scene of someone who had unexpectedly lost the most important relationship of their life. Their world turned gray, and the level of unhappiness and uncertainty about how they would go on lingered at levels most would find unimaginable. I was in a happy, long-term relationship when I wrote this song (which was over seven years ago at the time of this interview). Ironically, within 2 years of writing this song, this exact scenario happened to me. I experienced the worst emotional pain that I could ever dream of encountering. It put me to the ultimate test, which I’m glad to have survived. It made me stronger, far more emotionally rugged, and it was a hard lesson in human nature. Even though I didn’t write the song about this when it came together, it foreshadowed where my life was headed, giving the song a whole new, powerful, true story and personal identity. I enjoy playing this song very much, and we currently play it every night.
What was the creative process like for writing and recording “High Spirits Don’t Live Here”?
It was part of a group of songs I wrote and demoed out back in 2018, way before Burn Kit was a thing. I saved them, knowing I’d want to use them when I eventually worked on a project of this style. I went through and did a fresh demo of these songs that I gave to the band. From there, everything else developed. Sometimes the guys add in and tweak quite a few things; other times, it’s very minor adjustments. It’s really on a song-by-song basis. We don’t change things just for the sake of changing it. It has to benefit the song. Frank & Joshua added a lot of cool little details to some of the guitar leads and the effects used on them. Andrew solidified the kick drum pattern to be a certain way. Chris held down the low end like a boss. With their input, the song became what it is now and reached its full potential.
What made you select this particular song as the lead single for the “Fallen Rose” EP?
We felt that this song was the best among the 3 for all types of listeners, and it was a no-brainer for us to choose as the first single. We also have love for the other songs. We just launched “When You Know, You Know” as the 2nd single, accompanied by a music video. That is one of our personal favorite songs in our catalog and it’s the favorite to play live for most of us along with High Spirits.
What is the overall theme or narrative behind your debut EP, Fallen Rose?
Any form of loss can unveil itself in an instant: appreciate what you have while you have it.
Besides “High Spirits Don’t Live Here,” can you give us some insights into the other two songs featured on the EP?
“When You Know You, You Know” is a melodic, jangly, upbeat post-punk/new wave tune that kicks off the EP. It’s about big-pressure decisions that affect the rest of your life—choosing a path and going for it with no looking back. Although I wrote these lyrics before this band existed, I find them to be very descriptive of Burn Kit. We started this band last year, releasing a demo, a split, and singles throughout the year. We completed five tours across the world and have kept it going strong ever since, with no looking back. We’re in this now.
“Flash Flood London” is a very different tune for us. It’s a Brit-punky, new wave tune with some Dead Kennedys Fresh Fruit-era style guitars in the verses coated by these dual Maiden-like guitar leads that Joshua brought to the table. Once that was in there, it solidified this song with an exclusive identity that we will never attempt to repeat. It really is its own thing. It took most of the band a good minute to come around to accepting this song. But it’s proven to be a really fun song to bring to the stage because it’s an element you’re not getting from any of our other songs.
How does Fallen Rose reflect the band’s growth or direction since your earlier singles and demo?
The band didn’t truly find its identity until the release of the Fallen Rose EP in March. Some of those earlier singles were recorded before Burn Kit was even a band. We were still figuring a lot of things out. We’ll always be figuring things out to a degree. But sonically, visually, aesthetically, this era onward is who we truly are. This is what you should recognize as the true start of Burn Kit.
Tell us about the decision to release this EP on physical 7” vinyl—what does the vinyl format mean to the band?
We are a band that will always proudly represent a connection to the physical world. The internet is the most powerful global tool and we respect it. It’s allowed me to do crazy things like hit up thousands of strangers as I booked a 3-month European tour or send demo tapes to people in Turkey, Malaysia, Australia, and beyond. But there is an irreplaceable value when it comes to the art of human connection. Connecting with people in real life is infinitely more impressionable than anything you could possibly do online. The internet is a constant portal of overstimulation. This attitude transcends into our releases. Outside of a couple of digital singles, we make sure everything exists in the physical world, which is why we came right out of the gate with a demo tape, followed by a split 7” and now this debut 7” EP.
To not put this out on vinyl would send out this message to our listeners:
“We don’t care about this that much.”
“We want to do what’s easy.”
“We’re lazy.”
“We don’t want to spend money.”
I can’t imagine not having a version of this EP that I can touch, feel, listen to, and hand to someone. If you love what you do as much as we do, put your music out for real. It’s not 1987—you don’t have to press thousands of copies. Do a limited pressing of 100 to 500 records, depending on what you expect to move. Invest in what you spent countless hours creating. Physical media will survive indefinitely. Don’t depend on streaming services exclusively. They might not always be there.
Your debut EP Fallen Rose—especially the single “High Spirits Don’t Live Here”—showcases intensely personal and emotional lyrics. How do you approach songwriting to channel such raw emotions into your music, and what lyrical themes were you most interested in exploring in those songs?
I didn’t go into it expecting to channel any specific emotional themes. I listened to my instrumental demos and began writing. The images that came together became the lyrics. Each of these 3 songs are about very different things.
When crafting your songs, how do you shape elements like guitar tone, song structure, and arrangement to achieve Burn Kit’s distinctive sound, and how do those choices influence your band’s sonic identity?
These songs shape themselves in terms of tone. Generally speaking, a clean guitar with chorus, sometimes reverb, sometimes delay, is our general default, and we take it from there. Whether it’s muff, distortion, flanger etc. We have a lot of different tones so far in our small discography. Bass, we used to go clean. Then we started using a bass chorus pedal for one song. We loved it so much that it’s here to stay. We use it the whole set and it is quickly becoming a necessary part of our sound. That’s strictly Peter Hook’s fault. I’ve been hooked on the beautiful tone he has for a long time.
Song structure comes naturally most of the time. At this point in my writing, it’s usually clear to me where a song needs to go. I have fun with different structures throughout the tunes. There are a good amount of parts that only happen one time. It really depends on the song and the mapping that it calls for. These choices are important because these decisions are the barebones of your identity and what is going to make someone want to listen to you.
What concept did you want to convey in the music video for “High Spirits Don’t Live Here,” and how does its church-like, funeral setting symbolize or enhance the song’s emotional themes?
Whereas both the original vision for the song and my personal experience were centered on relationship loss, the music video centers around death. It is obviously a symbolic representation, as I am carried into the chapel and jump out of the coffin to begin the video and tell my story. If you pay attention to small detail, you will see a clip where I’m sunken in the snow on my knees, singing to the gravestone of the person that I miss. You can see an image of this on the B-side label on the 7” record. The setting we chose sets the tone for the emotional basis of this video by letting the viewer in on this lightly-attended, frigid, dark funeral service for an unrevealed person. It is the listener’s choice who that person is.
Can you tell us about the filming process for the “High Spirits Don’t Live Here” music video?
We were fortunate enough to be able to access an old former cemetery chapel in my hometown of Dover, New Hampshire. It was used for funeral services decades ago, with the last one being around 1989/1990 from what we were told. After that, the city used it as a cemetery office. They left it in its original shape with all of the church pews, lectionary, and to our surprise—a chain casket crank coming up from the basement. The entire experience was so authentic and well-fitting. The basement was formerly the room where the Dover street signs were manufactured. There was so much personal history down there for me, as I know this city inside out. Frank and I even saw the signs for our home street. It was grim, mysterious, and perfect for what we were doing. And that was just the basement…
For the start of the video, we oiled up the old chain crank and somehow got that platform functioning again. It hadn’t been moved in forever and was very heavy. On one of our test runs (fortunately with no one on or below it), the platform came off track, and it fell to the ground from up high. Anyone below it would have been killed instantly. That was a good lesson learned for the first take. So we sent the casket up without me in it, and I entered it for the first shot once it was already up on the stage and off the lift. We were cautious that the floor in front of the stage might give out and fall down 12–15 feet at any point. Luckily, it stayed securely for the rest of the shoot.
It took a day of prep moving all of the stuff we didn’t need out of the room, and a half a day to film the video. One thing that will always stick in our minds is how unbelievably freezing this was. It was the coldest day in this area that I can think of in recent history. There was no heat or water in the chapel and hardly any working electricity. If the power blew, we would have been in trouble. We’re so lucky it didn’t. Our limbs were numb all day as negative temperatures haunted us both inside and outside the building. The snow-covered graveyard footage, the EP front & back cover—it was as cold as it looks, if not colder.
We finished filming by early afternoon and headed to a sound stage in another part of the state to film a 2nd music video that same day for the song “When You Know, You Know.”
Who did you collaborate with on the video production, and why did you choose this team?
Austin Kranick has become part of our in-house video team. He’s a good friend & band mate of Tom Barvick, who plays with us on tour sometimes and a friend of Padraic’s as well. Padraic insisted we use Austin and he was so right. His vision for what we’re doing and his on-the-spot instinct of exactly what to go for is like no other. When you’re working with someone who isn’t just a great videographer, but someone who is in a touring band and has a natural passion for the content, it elevates the experience to the next level. We’ve been working steadily and have already filmed 3 music videos with him.
Who are some of the band’s key musical influences?
Bands that have directly influenced our sound are R.E.M., Joy Division, T.S.O.L., Zounds, Wipers, The Smiths, The Cure, Ramones, Martha & The Muffins, Blind Seagull, The Feelies, and The Misfits. We come from the punk/hardcore scene and listen to a wide variety both in and far away from that realm. The influences above are the ones most relevant to our sound and the sector of our taste that we’re channeling with this project.
Are there specific non-musical influences (e.g., art, literature, personal experiences) that strongly inform your music and visuals?
This is a beautiful question that I’ve never been asked. Yes…immensely. The connection with the natural world is equally important as any musical influence to the band as far as I’m concerned. Being in the grass, the dirt, the water. Breathing the air. Skies instead of screens. Appreciating the true beauty and the mystery behind it all. I long for a time in my life that is more technologically void and nature-filled. I will get there. I can feel a similar energy from Joshua. He has that original human aura and he’s out there from time to time in nature taking photos that we sometimes use for band imagery for flyers & other visuals. It’s good to share the vision.
A specific memory that comes to mind is when Frank & I were on top of a castle in Slovenia overlooking a town & several villages. We were there with a few folks during the evening time. Eventually, the sun began to set. Instead of being up there for a few minutes, snapping a few photos, saying “cool,” and leaving, we remained up there until the sun was completely down and then some. We listened to some acoustic versions of his favorite songs from the Final Fantasy series. The beauty in the melody we were hearing perfectly represented what we were seeing from atop the castle. The valley, the sky, the sunset, the villages, the stream. It was a very human experience. The simplicity of just talking and being out in the world’s beauty far surpassed what we would have gotten out of rushing back to our hotel and checking our phones.
When you hear our riffs, our melodies… When you hear “Terranean Memoir,” “Inverness,” or “Don’t Sleep On The World” kick in… this is exactly the feeling we’re talking about. In this moment, melody and the planet’s natural beauty become one. They become inseparable. Many people know exactly what I’m talking about. You’re not alone. I hear it. I feel it. I live it.
Burn Kit is based in Boston. How has the local music scene there influenced your music, performance style, or band ethos?
Boston is our base, but members are scattered throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire. I live in NH myself, but my home has always been the Boston punk scene. If I’m going to a show, there’s at least a 75% chance it’s in Boston. There’s a lot of lifers in Boston that I’ve been seeing at shows for decades now. There’s more new faces around today than there ever was before, which is great. Whether it’s new people or not, the Boston scene carries a genuine energy and has always been one of my favorite scenes in the country.
Growing up going to shows there multiple times per week really shaped my listening and my writing. Trim the fat and put out only what you believe to be your best is the vibe I got. Regularly seeing classics like The Freeze, Jerry’s Kids, Slapshot, DYS, and Darkbuster to bands that came after like Mouth Sewn Shut & Boston Strangler has probably shaped my musical taste and how I exist at shows more than I can imagine. If it’s a band I love, I have never been one to be in the shadows and just “watch the show.” If you love the band, you can’t help but lose your mind. This really transcended into Burn Kit as we’re performing. It’s a full-energy experience. I’m not there to put you to sleep. I’m there to share energy with you and make every moment of our set worth it for the both of us.
What are Burn Kit’s goals or plans for the rest of 2025?
We have our entire year planned out, and whether it’s on or off the road, there’s never a dull moment. With our debut EP, Fallen Rose, still fresh, we’ll be promoting it for a bit longer. Beyond that, we are putting together a split 7” with our friends Turquoise from Chicago over the summer months, which is already recorded. Following that will be our 2nd EP, which we just finished recording.
In August, we’re going on an East Coast/Midwest tour with The Dwarves. We’re really looking forward to that. I’ve been a fan for most of my life. We did a short run in Hawaii with them earlier this year. Blag Dahlia is the real deal. Then come September, we’re meeting up with the Dead Boys again, this time to do the West Coast. In all the interim periods between these things, we’ll be practicing twice a week, in the studio, filming music videos, and learning new songs for future releases. We are looking to put out our first full-length album next year. We started this project just over a year ago at full throttle. We’re keeping in that mode consistently as far as our eyes can see.
Listen to High Spirits Don’t Live Here below. The Fallen Rose EP features two other songs and is also available on 7” vinyl record here.
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