Broods – Conscious (Review)
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Broods: Conscious (2016)
Capitol Records
07/23 – Kansas City, MO @ Cultivate Festival
08/01 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club 08/02 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall 08/03 – Boston, MA @ Royale 08/04 – Montreal, QC @ L’Astral 08/06 – Toronto, ON @ TIME Festival 08/07 – Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar 08/08 – Chicago, IL @ Metro 08/09 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue 08/10 – Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room 08/12 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre 08/15 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater 08/16 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre 08/17 – Seattle, WA @ The Neptune Theatre 08/19 – Oakland, CA @ The Fox Theater 08/20 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory 08/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo 08/25 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom 08/27 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater 08/28 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s 08/29 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall 08/30 – New Orleans, LA @ Republic 09/01 – Orlando, FL @ The Beacham 09/02 – St. Petersburg, FL @ State Theatre 09/03 – Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage Read More
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Brother and sister duo Georgia & Caleb Nott, otherwise known as Broods, released their sophomore album Conscious on June 24, 2016. This new material was already in the works when the Nott siblings released their 2014 debut album Evergreen. The album’s charismatic first single, Heartlines, was co-written with fellow New Zealander Lorde.
If you like to dance and if you like to sing along, you will love this album. The beats and the lyrics are easy to remember, and there are sure to be huge crowds of people singing and dancing along to these songs in cars and on dance floors everywhere.
Broods continues their tradition of dazzling electronic dance pop with an album of songs that are sure to become dance anthems and some catchy ballads thrown in as well. Love is a strong underlying theme on this record; a subject that gets revisited with each new track.
The song Free gets the album off to an excellent start. The cadence and the refrain of ‘hallelujah, I’m free’ call to mind traditional African American spirituals which are normally sung a capella. The fusion of these lyrics and cadences with an electronic beat makes for a beautiful sounding result. There is an even more primal background element of chanting that sounds almost Native American. All of these elements are brought together and ring out over layers of synth. It’s not difficult to see people all over the planet dancing to this song. The chorus demands that you either sing along or get to the dance floor.
Are You Home is a song about being cheated on, second chances and the possibility of reconciliation. There is a synth sound in this song that reminds me of 1986s I Can’t Wait by Nu Shooz. The lyrics “Are you home tonight? / Are you alone tonight? / I’ve been drinkin’ and I’m thinkin,’ that I don’t want to fight” really stick in your head.
Another favorite is Broods’ collaboration with Lorde; Heartlines. It’s a mellow yet danceable love song, and its beauty is made especially apparent by its playful and anthemic chorus of “I don’t wanna always play nice / But I wanna feel your heartlines / I wanna feel your heart.”
Hold The Line features vocal tracks in varying pitches. A (thankfully brief) chipmunk vocal sample proves to be a bit grating. This song is more mellow and less danceable than some of the others, but it has an extremely catchy refrain: “You hold it, don’t break it / You give it, you take it.”
On Freak Of Nature, Georgia is joined on vocals by Swedish singer & songwriter Tove Lo. The vocals go from breathy to downright operatic. With its initial acoustic piano accompaniment, this song gradually builds with the addition of synth tracks. Freak of Nature is a stunningly beautiful Lady Gaga-esque ballad about loving yourself as you are. The line “Dancing scars from long nights / I’ve been bruised by your light” will give you chills.
Broods is about to embark on a North American headline tour which will begin August 1st.
If you like to dance and if you like to sing along, you will love this album. The beats and the lyrics are easy to remember, and there are sure to be huge crowds of people singing and dancing along to these songs in cars and on dance floors everywhere.
Broods continues their tradition of dazzling electronic dance pop with an album of songs that are sure to become dance anthems and some catchy ballads thrown in as well. Love is a strong underlying theme on this record; a subject that gets revisited with each new track.
The song Free gets the album off to an excellent start. The cadence and the refrain of ‘hallelujah, I’m free’ call to mind traditional African American spirituals which are normally sung a capella. The fusion of these lyrics and cadences with an electronic beat makes for a beautiful sounding result. There is an even more primal background element of chanting that sounds almost Native American. All of these elements are brought together and ring out over layers of synth. It’s not difficult to see people all over the planet dancing to this song. The chorus demands that you either sing along or get to the dance floor.
Are You Home is a song about being cheated on, second chances and the possibility of reconciliation. There is a synth sound in this song that reminds me of 1986s I Can’t Wait by Nu Shooz. The lyrics “Are you home tonight? / Are you alone tonight? / I’ve been drinkin’ and I’m thinkin,’ that I don’t want to fight” really stick in your head.
Another favorite is Broods’ collaboration with Lorde; Heartlines. It’s a mellow yet danceable love song, and its beauty is made especially apparent by its playful and anthemic chorus of “I don’t wanna always play nice / But I wanna feel your heartlines / I wanna feel your heart.”
Hold The Line features vocal tracks in varying pitches. A (thankfully brief) chipmunk vocal sample proves to be a bit grating. This song is more mellow and less danceable than some of the others, but it has an extremely catchy refrain: “You hold it, don’t break it / You give it, you take it.”
On Freak Of Nature, Georgia is joined on vocals by Swedish singer & songwriter Tove Lo. The vocals go from breathy to downright operatic. With its initial acoustic piano accompaniment, this song gradually builds with the addition of synth tracks. Freak of Nature is a stunningly beautiful Lady Gaga-esque ballad about loving yourself as you are. The line “Dancing scars from long nights / I’ve been bruised by your light” will give you chills.
Broods is about to embark on a North American headline tour which will begin August 1st.