Broods - Album Review: Conscious
With the follow up to their 2014 debut album Evergreen,
Broods are back again with another collection of the moody, atmospheric,
dance-pop that gained them their notoriety.
Conscious is a straight up beast of an album. Contrasting, contemplative, at times euphoric-but with a twisty, dark edge .
The sister-brother duo have definitely stepped their game up production wise, the vocals are more dynamic and varied between songs but maintain a clarifying sense of cohesion throughout the album.
The collection opens with the well-received single Free, before moving on to We Had Everything a contrasting upbeat rhythm, killer hook, soaring chorus and oddly lamenting lyrics (my favourite piece off the album).
Hold The Line has a Drake-ish vibe to start with that took me by surprise, but moves into a pretty straight, solid pop feel by the end of the first verse. And the use of call and response and layered vocals in the chorus is pretty amazing.
Freak Of Nature features Tove Lo and starts as a slower piece - a little withdrawn, touching vaguely on themes of longing for the past, home and a taxing mental state. Georgia’s vocals meld so well with Tove’s, it’s a wee bit of a match made in heaven.
In fact, Freak Of Nature is probably the best example off the album of Broods’ overall writing, music and tone taking on aspects of Scandinavian pop -
Couldn’t Believe reminded me a lot of NONONO and there were instances across the album where Georgia’s vocals made me think of Robyn or Lykke Li. The tone and production lend themselves to that polished-but-sparse style.
Overall a brilliant, well thought out and masterfully produced second album.
About Broods
Georgia and Caleb started playing together around the age of ten, more recently, playing together as part of (the now defunct) Peasants. The two started spending time with Joel Little in the studio while he was also working on Lorde's Grammy nominated Pure Heroine.
Their song Bridges has clocked over 300,000 plays on Soundcloud, and Hypemachine says they are “pretty much destined for pop success”.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Broods
Releases
Other Reviews By camy3rs
Myele Manzanza - Album Review: OnePointOne (Live At The Blue Whale)
20 Nov 2016 // by camy3rs
There are very few percussionists I can think of that would be able to pull off a live recorded album that falls even into the same league as OnePointOne (Live At The Blue Whale). From the opening bars of A Love Eclectic and onward throughout, the whole collection draws on many contrasting genres, cultures and aural motifs that somehow harmoniously flow out of and into each other.
Read More...
Openside - EP Review: Push Back
21 Oct 2016 // by camy3rs
Admittedly, home grown pop-rock has never been a particularly easy sell in New Zealand, but when Openside started turning heads with last year’s single Worth It the group began a rather rapid ascent, opening for various international acts including Twenty One Pilots and Melanie Martinez, selling out their own secret headline show and culminating in the recent release of their debut EP Push Back. The collection opens up with the hook-laden All I Really Want – catchy as all hell, the song initially comes off as the kind of upbeat, self-help anthem you might put on a mix-tape for your best friend who was recently dumped.
Read More...
Gig Review: Broods @ Vector Arena 15/07/2016
02 Aug 2016 // by camy3rs
It’s a wee bit of a sad state how seldom a full line-up of Kiwi acts take the stage at Vector Arena, but hopefully after the success of Broods’ Conscious tour, we can see the wheels begin to turn a little more in favour of New Zealand bands. The night opened up with Blenheim-based newcomers, October.
Read More...
Kaushun - Album Review: Tonight
25 Jun 2016 // by camy3rs
Aside from having one of those names that makes fans wary of mispronounciation, Kaushun (pronounced as ‘Caution’), is a electronic music producer based in Auckland, but originally from Leeds in the United Kingdom. Tonight is the producers second album and a decent mix of run-of-the-mill dance/club beats, interesting electronica soundscapes and some high tempo pieces that wouldn’t go amiss on the soundtrack to a futuristic David Fincher film.
Read More...
Gig Review: Avalanche City @ The Powerstation 03/06/16
21 Jun 2016 // by camy3rs
Dave Baxter and ilk have become a rather large part of the quilt of Kiwi music – encompassing all of the personality traits that Kiwis seem to love in their icons, modest about his skill, understated in the news, seemingly soft spoken and dedicated to his practice. Avalanche City itself is a bit of a pop wonder - the roots in folk and country that set the band a part from other pop acts should (at least, to Kiwi audiences) be the proverbial bullet in the heart, and yet at every point they defy the odds.
Read More...
Ladyhawke - Album Review: Wild Things
05 Jun 2016 // by camy3rs
Pip Brown is the kind of musical artist I forever wish that the world had more of, - intuitive, intentional and innovative. Everytime a new Ladyhawke album is released, the incremental advances towards an even more polished, cohesive and genre defying sound are obvious.
Read More...
Gig Review: Drax Project @ Neck Of The Woods, Auckland - 13/05/16
04 Jun 2016 // by camy3rs
Roughly three years ago, I remember walking down Courtenay Place in Wellington and stumbling across a three-piece jazz ensemble playing top 40 pop and RnB covers outside of the Reading Cinema. I’ll tell you now, you have not heard Katy Perry until you’ve heard these guys play Hot ‘n Cold with a saxophone covering the entire lyrical line.
Read More...
Album Review: Zen Mantra
25 May 2016 // by camy3rs
Opening with the tumultuous, twangy guitar refrain on Will Disappear, Zen Mantra’s self-titled album is a brilliant, collective cross-section of reedy, jangling guitar dispersed with sporadic synth. As a mainstayer of the Christchurch music scene and a member of currently touring local group Yumi Zouma, Sam Perry curates a pretty formidable reputation, so expectations for this collection were set pretty high.
Read More...
Most Viewed Artists
Latest Galleries
NZ Top 10 Singles
- APT.
ROSÉ And Bruno Mars - DIE WITH A SMILE
Lady Gaga And Bruno Mars - BIRDS OF A FEATHER
Billie Eilish - TASTE
Sabrina Carpenter - I LOVE YOU, I'M SORRY
Gracie Abrams - ESPRESSO
Sabrina Carpenter - SAILOR SONG
Gigi Perez - LOSE CONTROL
Teddy Swims - A BAR SONG (TIPSY)
Shaboozey - GOOD LUCK, BABE!
Chappell Roan
More Content on muzic.net.nz
Google Site Search
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report A Problem
