In the past week the city has been awash with a vast array of quality music as bands embarked on the city to play sideshows from Splendour in the Grass. The Corner Hotel provided the venue for many of those, and one of the last Splendour sideshows was New Zealand brother and sister duo Broods.
The band have been slated as the ‘next big thing’ to come out of New Zealand. Given the publicity associated with NZ music lately, most notably due to teen sensation Lorde, can the band possibly live up to the hype? Their debut album is a few weeks away so it’s probably too early to judge, however it’s not too early to see how their live game stacks up and Tone Deaf went to find out.
Supported by East and Jarryd James, not many punters had arrived to see the former, yet the latter struck something of a chord with the building audience with his simply stunning performance. Strangely aided by Matt Corby on keys and a drummer, the unassuming James, shy in a coat and beanie, delivered a brief set that certainly made an impression. His ability to sing in a high register that’s rarely heard was an absolute pleasure to listen to and the Brisbane native seemed genuinely surprised and quietly thrilled with the reaction the crowd gave him.
After a lengthy break between acts the duo a sold out Melbourne had braved extreme cold and wet weather to see arrived onstage. Georgia Nott was immediately more striking, not just due to being the singer and frontwoman, but because of a matching three piece floral print Adidas outfit consisting of a tights, t-shirt and hoodie tied around her waist primary school style. Her style matched her vocal delivery; it was striking.
It took most of the opening song ‘Never Gonna Change’ for this reviewer to be sure it was actually her singing and not pre-recorded, such was her vocal precision. It was soon obvious that it was indeed live when she pushed harder in certain parts to give that live strain that is imperfect but one of the reasons why people love live music so much.
The duo kept going with songs off their self titled EP following the opener with ‘Coattails’ and ‘Pretty Thing’. The crowd were in a participatory mood and were more than happy to give lots of feedback, so much so that a chant of “AC off, AC off, AC off” broke out in an attempt to temper the arctic conditions in the room, much to the bemusement of the siblings on stage who simply laughed and got on with things.
There wasn’t much talking throughout the performance on reflection but the gig didn’t feel any worse off for it, as the quality of the set being played was simply so good. The title track off their forthcoming debut album Evergreen proved a popular moment. In fact all the new songs played garnered a thoroughly encouraging reaction, growing the nervous anticipation for the album even more.
Lead single from the new album ‘Mother & Father’ brought about a rapturous reception as the regular set closer. Over and over the band demonstrated their musical ability stands up exceedingly well in a live environment. They may just be the next big thing out of New Zealand, yet the quality of their debut will play a large part in if that proves true or not. However, based on the songs they pulled from it at The Corner there’s not much to worry about and a lot to be excited for.
