“hauntingly beautiful, perfectly soothing” (The Music)
Melbourne noir-country crooners Broads (Kelly Day and Jane Hendry) have just released their debut album VACANCY, a follow up to their 2014 self-titled EP.
The new album follows a sweeping national tour with lead single 'Nod Off, Dream', a darkly subjective song with a lullaby aesthetic and slow-burning broody instrumentals. With a music video that offers a nod to the nightmare-lit worlds of David Lynch and Peter Greenaway, the idea of a simple love song is turned on its head.
With guest appearances by acclaimed Melbourne musicians Alex O'Gorman on bass, Sarah Galdes on drums, Matt Dixon and Dan Lethbridge on electric guitars, VACANCY sees Broads at their most mesmerising and panoramic.
From the spacious opening track “Green Screen”, the album weaves through a cast of characters riddled with self-delusion, longing, regret and paranoia. “I Can’t Stop Thinking” wraps tongue-in-cheek morbidity in hooky country twang, “The Valley” paints a feverish portrait of longing and “Nod Off, Dream” showcases lush vocals with one foot in reality and the other in the dark subconscious. Overall, VACANCY seems to dive through the veneer of everyday fantasies and explore the space beneath - sometimes with dry wit, often with worldly pathos.
Jane Hendry and Kelly Day say "Vacancy is our first full length album, and first venture into a denser, more orchestrated sound than our original duo. We stole some of our favourite Melbournians to join the two of us on the record, and explore the possibilities of turning it into something quite cinematic. In saying that, the sounds we've put together are still fairly sparse. The album turned out to revolve around ideas of emptiness, or hollowness, and you can't tackle that without really making use of space. That will always be a big part of what we do, and we're thrilled to have managed to keep that feel with a full band involved."
Broads will take VACANCY on the road from late March through April in 2017. Tour dates soon to be announced!
Listen back to The Afterglow Wednesday 8 March for a live set from Broads. Studio 5 Live is proudly brought to you by Mountain Goat.
