It feels like a lifetime ago that Australia was first smitten with Auckland-rasied, now LA-based siblings Broods, aka Caleb and Georgia Nott. Since releasing their breakthrough single “Bridges” in 2013, the pair have been on an upward trajectory, playing some of the world’s biggest stages, topping charts with releases, nabbing award after award, and being handpicked to tour with the likes of Taylor Swift and Sam Smith.
We last had a small fix of the Notts’ talents in early 2018, catching up with Georgia when she released ‘The Venus Project’, an powerful LP and vision driven entirely by women. At the same time, Caleb was working on his own solo project, releasing smooth electro-soul numbers as Fizzy Milk. Exploring and experimenting on their own has culminated in a collaboration that sees the siblings more dynamic than ever, melding the lyrical vulnerability of ‘The Venus Project’ with Fizzy Milk’s shimmering electronic soundscapes.
Throw in some label drama, a new signing and reconfiguration of approach, and voilà, the siblings’ third album was born. Through reuniting with longtime affiliate and production heavyweight Joel Little (the mastermind behind Lorde’s ‘Pure Heroine’), the record sees Broods breaking sonic ground, with melodies and beats bolder and brighter than ever before.
Ahead of some huge tour dates across the US, Canada and here on our shores, we chatted to Caleb about writing songs in the jungle, the significance of seeking therapy, and taking control on the new album.
Best Before: I’ve been listening to this album on repeat, and it’s incredible. It’s such a different sound to the last couple of albums. What was the process of shifting the sound like?
Caleb Nott: I think shifting the sound came naturally. Being in control of what we make is amazing, and that’s probably why it sounds like this. I think, especially, with the second record we felt a little pressure to get in that pop world where we didn’t really feel too natural.
Yeah, it sounded different to what I was expecting – in a good way.
Yeah, that’s why we didn’t think about what people wanted us to make this time. It was pretty heavy on our minds last time and you just have lot of pressure to back up a first record. This time, we wrote the whole record when we kind of didn’t have a label, so it was just our opinions that we were going off and it felt a lot more natural and organic that way.
Absolutely, and you guys wrote a fair chunk of this record while you were in a writing camp in the jungle.
Yeah we wrote about a quarter of it in one week in Nicaragua.
It feels refreshed and vulnerable.
Yeah, a bit looser and more vibey. A bit more light and organic. We just did whatever we wanted.
“We want it to feel like a dope sunset, basically.”
Each song sounds quite different to each other but they blend together so smoothly.
It feels good. I feel like it’s a real Aussie record. I think this is going to be appreciated most by the Australians.
I mean, we always love the music you guys produce, and I’m sure you could tell that by the response you would have received from “Peach” dropping a few months ago.
Yeah, thank you!
Speaking of “Peach”, the video was another one that I was really impressed with. What was the thought process behind creating a video that was so retro disco but so unique to Broods?
I think it was just mostly picking who we wanted to use, and whose aesthetic we thought was the best. It was who could portray our personality the best way, and Sam Kristofski is definitely one of my favourite music producers and directors. He’s a family friend of ours from when we were kids. We grew up in the same town, our dads work together, and now we’re in LA making videos together. It’s pretty fun.
I can imagine working with someone you have grown up with and been around for quite some time would have made it all so easy.
And he has that kind of attitude that we had with this album, which was very much like, “Oh we will just work it out on the day, and it’s going to be awesome.” He’s from another planet, but in a good way.
I’ve seen you guys a few times live now, and it’s always felt quite new and unique. Do you like to mix it up each time, or do you kind of just roll with it and see how it goes?
It’s a live set on tours, so you keep it similar most nights and just throw in a few things to change, just so you don’t fuck it up. But every tour we like to bring in different songs that we toured on previous shows, and bring in different old songs that we miss playing, and things like that. We like to change it up, cause otherwise you feel like you’ll go insane.
“But it’s a lot braver to actually go to a therapist and deal with your problems…”
Can we expect anything from the upcoming tour that may be different from your previous tours?
It’s definitely going to be a little bit more fun than it has been — a lot of energy, and the light shows are going to be insane. I mean, we’re still working on it. It’s going to be more of an experience than just playing a list of songs. We’ve got a couple of six-minute songs on this album, so we’re going to try and fit them in, and maybe a couple of covers you know, just to mix it up. We want it to feel like a dope sunset, basically.
A standout track on the album is one that you’re actually a lead vocalist on. “Too Proud” is definitely a vulnerable and emotional song – was it a difficult process to figure out that you would be the lead on this track?
I regret it now because I’ll have to sing it live. It was just one day that we were both singing along to this tune we were writing and, for some reason, it just worked out. I was feeling in the zone, and I’ve never really felt okay to sing on a track before because I’m not a very confident vocalist. It’s going to be a very big learning experience for me. I think it’s going to be terrifying, but I’ve got to get into it.
It’s a heavy song emotionally and I think it’s good to get that message out to young men these days — that it’s okay to ask for help and see someone about how you feel. There’s a huge stigma, especially in Australia and New Zealand, where it’s kind of like, “Toughen up, you’re a man” kind of vibe. But it’s a lot braver to actually go to a therapist and deal with your problems rather than just being a ‘tough guy’. I just want to get that message out to men that, if you go and see someone, life gets so much easier. It’s a great experience to go through – you’ll learn from yourself and grow as a person.
I think the timing of the record release, with that song in Australa, and all the campaigns going on at the moment, will see it have such an impact.
Yeah, hopefully a lot of guys start going to therapy. Girls hate the butch persona, and once they figure that out, they’ll head straight there.
On a side note, a couple of months ago I saw on your Instagram that Georgia was hanging out with Vera Blue. Can we expect any sneaky collaborations from that friendship?
I don’t know — eventually, maybe. There’s nothing happening at the moment, but I think there definitely is going to be a collaboration in the future for sure, because those two are two peas in a pod. They love each other a lot, so something will definitely happen there.
Yeah cool! Well I’ll let you go, but thanks for taking the time to have a chat with me and I’m loving the album along with the rest of Australia.
Aw, thanks dude! See you!
BROODS AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES
Tuesday 21st May — The Forum — Melbourne, VIC
Wednesday 22nd May – Thebarton Theatre – Adelaide, SA
Tuesday 28th May – Enmore Theatre – Sydney, NSW
Sunday 17th February — Mojo — Mackay, QLD
Thursday 30th May — Eatons Hill Hotel — Brisbane, QLD
Saturday 1st June – Metropolis – Fremantle, WA
Listen to ‘Don’t Feed The Pop Monster’ here: