It’s been an interesting couple of years for New Zealand sibling synthpop duo BROODS since the release of their last album.
Since Conscious (a favorite of mine) dropped in 2016, BROODS have switched labels (from Capitol to Neon Gold) and developed a new sound. Wednesday night, a sold-out packed crowd at The Roxy were lucky to be the first to hear some of those new songs in a live setting.
Georgia Nott appeared in an all flannel outfit and a white crop top, strutting across the stage with the kind of swagger that belies her 24 years of age. Joined on stage by her brother Caleb as well as two additional members of their live setup, they launched into “Hold the Line” from their last full-length effort.
You could tell the crowd had been anxiously awaiting this show, as it had been almost two years since they played Los Angeles, opening for Two Door Cinema Club at the Shrine in November of 2016. BROODS were happy to be welcomed back to their adopted hometown with such fervor.
The second song in their set was the song that blew them up to begin with — “Bridges”. It still holds up so wonderfully, highlighting the uniqueness of Georgia’s vocals with a simple piano riff and awesome drop. They even played the cover they contributed to the Neon Gold 10th anniversary compilation that just dropped today — a medley of Gotye songs called “Eyes a Mess”.
You could tell this was the band’s first show in a while because Georgia kept running out of breath after sprinting across the stage singing and dancing. I’ve seen the band countless times and don’t recall her needing a couple of breaks in between the bangers.
After playing more favorites from Conscious, the band jumped into some newer material that is coming from a yet-to-be-named third album. The new material sounded a bit more atmospheric and heady than previous straight-forward pop offerings from the band. They had an almost Avalanches-like feel to them, and myself and the crowd really dug them. One of them was pretty heavy on the bass. This has me excited for the new record that much more.
Georgia did a solo rendition of “Four Walls” from their debut album Evergreen, a song that wasn’t even on their initial setlist. That had the crowd hooting and hollering as she stretched her voice to its furthest abilities.
The band closed their set with the first single they dropped this year, “Peach”. The song is an upbeat anthem that best encapsulates the feeling of going through so many ups and downs. The crowd sang along to the anthemic chorus with their hands outstretched to the air.
An hour-long set and the band was done. But they certainly accomplished their goal — teasing the crowd with new music while also reminding them just why they love this band so much.
Words by Mark Ortega
Photos by Justin Higuchi
