Sad news, guys. Melbourne based Aburden have made the tough decision to go on a hiatus as a band. Though it’s unclear for how long their break as a band will be or what lies ahead for them, what is clear is that they are prioritising their mental health and wellbeing with the decision. This is a good thing.
In a statement from Aburden as a whole, they described how their personal challenges had begun negatively impacting the band and also their connections with each other. And though they were fearful of losing what they’d achieved so far as Aburden, they recognised the importance of putting the brakes on.
The statement in full:
“It is very hard to be an aspiring musician, as many aspiring musicians know. Being in a group of aspiring musicians can make it harder; we all want something and we are all chasing something. It is sometimes hard to see the collective as individual people; we find it hard ourselves. We are all very different, and we all have our own struggles. Over the years we have pushed them aside but there is no way to put life on pause. We found our individual struggles bleeding into our band, and once we were able to look inwards; we saw that the path we were all going down wasn’t helping us at all. We felt that if we kept going to way we were going, were would really rupture our friendships with each other in ways that would only hurt one another. We came to the conclusion that we weren’t dealing with things that needed desperately to be addressed because we were so scared of putting life on hold, and what that would mean for the band. But the reality is, the only way we feel we can move forward is to stop and take a long needed breath. We hope that the time away will help us recover but we can’t put a timeframe on it. We hope people will understand. We may not be here, but we’ll always be there to help to anyone that needs us. We love our fans, we love our family, and we love what we have built.”
More definitively, Aburden have announced that drummer Kylan Ridings is departing the band. Put simply, and clarifying that there is no bad blood, Kylan explained that he felt his time with the band was up. Kylan expressed the juggle of time he has been trying to make work, saying “It’s a difficult task managing my personal, social and professional life. Something I’ve struggled with in the last year since taking on other projects and really focusing on myself, so that I am able to grow and progress how I wish.”
“This isn’t something that I want to say”
Coupled with the news is the release of new single “Farewell”, which acts like something of a closing chapter for the band, at least for now. It comes in conjunction with a music video filmed by Ethan Zahorodnyj which captures the band’s experiences while on tour (which is kind of heartwarming but also heart-ouchy when it comes with the hiatus news).
Similar in strength and vibe to “One For You” from Aburden’s The Last Goodbye album, “Farewell” is also heavy with dread and inevitability. Repeating “Around around around we go” seems to hint at circular attempts for change that couldn’t be broken through. Guitarist and vocalist Kyle Burrows’ relatively flat vocals in the song’s verses fittingly reflect the sombre mood.
It’s at the song’s beginning as well as the bridge – which comes across like a final effort – that higher peaks are reached for. At the other end of the spectrum, vocalist Mason Forster’s vocals seem to tread heavier ground than ever. His concerned run of syllables gains strength and leads into a vibe of frustration.
Bittersweet and heart-heavy, “Farewell” leaves an up-in-the-air note in a search for adequacy and breaking of cycles. As a fan of Aburden since the accidental discovery of “Without Me”, I hope they find peace and collective strength to someday continue creating meaningful music that struck a chord with many.
Watch “Farewell” below via YouTube.
