Beamed in from the Central Coast, Burger Legs Joe is the 'avatar of an unidentified music producer' who has tasked themselves with the assignment to 'restomod' – their made-up word meaning restore and modernise – outstanding retro songs for your grooving pleasure. Yeah, baby!
The life of Burger Legs Joe began as an abandoned baby in a McDonalds carpark; his parents Beefy Thighs Bill and Betty Baguettes dumped him simply because "he just would not shut up".After being adopted by the famously rich, Burger Legs Joe pursued his love of music at a prestigious university; but after an incident involving the breakage of instruments and personal injury, BLJ was forced to switch to virtual instruments – for everyone's sake.
'Dance Around And Be Stupid!' was Burger Legs Joe's debut EP, released in 2021. Fast-forward a little and mesmerised by the voice of friend and vocalist Andi Bracken, a collaborative project was formed, with the duo setting about to 'blow the dust off some of the great songs of the past'.
Whether a classic banger of yesteryear or an emotive ballad drenched in nostalgia, Burger Legs Joe and Andi's first 'restomod' collection is 'The Love And Happiness Set Part 1'.
"We want to uplift our audience, so we naturally gravitate towards songs we love, that do that for us," shares the pair. "And so from 'The Love And Happiness Set Part 1', we present our first release, 'Just Like Heaven', adapted from The Cure. We hope you enjoy."
Released today, scenestr is thrilled to premiere the music video for 'Just Like Heaven'. Enjoy.
BLJ and Andi's cover of The Cure classic is lo-fi new wave, jangly post-punk, dipped in an '80s radio sheen. The lilting, sparkly, buoyant, merry melody bursts forth giving the rendition a salty-chocolate sensation set against the morose, melancholic lyrics depicting lost love.
For the music video, BLJ and Andi worked with director Richard Robyn, of The Miracle Mixing Company. The treatment depicts BLJ and Andi in their spare time, wandering around town.
"Burger Legs Joe was a pleasure to work with; he waits quietly in a laptop; always does the exact same thing at the touch of a button, and doesn't pig out on the crew catering," Richard says.
"The same can be said for Andi, and being stuck in a bell jar double guaranteed our food was safe.
"The avatar of an unidentified music producer, Burger Legs Joe has a strange life and history coalescing around him.
"For the 'Just Like Heaven' music video, we wanted to peep into Joe and Andi's spare time. Given that Joe's a 2D person, (pronouns it, that), he naturally appears as live graffiti when he's out in our world.
"So, we mounted a big-ass video projector in a 4WD and filmed Joe and Andi's projection on buildings and walls as we drove along.
"The technique was totally inspired by an old Safia music video. Thanks guys, you rock! "It was a cold, moonlit night. Nothing stirred the silence, save the sound of a generator purring in the trailer. The rattling of a chunky diesel engine; and chattering of the teeth of a film crew.
"Packed tightly between tech, and cables, and a mobile production office, in an open top Jeep until 4am in the morning. God, I love the glamour of filmmaking!
"We hope you have a fun groove watching it."
