Beloved sibling duo BROODS (Georgia and Caleb Nott) have released their new single and video for “Heartbreak” and officially revealed the details for their forthcoming studio album, Space Island, out February 18th via Island Records Australia/Ingrooves. Embodying a certain enchanted quality with its serpentine grooves, shimmering textures and synths that conjure a bit of space-age psychedelia as the band delve into complex subject matter, “Heartbreak” fully epitomizes the prismatic musicality at the heart of Space Island.
PRESS HERE to listen/stream and PRESS HERE to watch the video; and check out first looks from FLOOD andDork. Space Island is now available for pre-save/pre-order at all DSPs – PRESS HERE.
“We wrote this from a place of determination. Determined to learn from the loss of my marriage and keep my heart open in its most tender state,” says Georgia on the new song. “When I say, ‘Let your heart break’, I’m whispering to myself to stay present with the grief and transmute it into empathy. It was a mantra for me when I first separated from my husband. One of our parents would reiterate to me daily at the beginning of my healing.”
Animated by Dr. Foothead (Adult Swim, Babe Rainbow, The Oh Sees) and produced by Alex McCrossin, “Heartbreak” joins BROODS’ previously released single and anti-anthem “Piece Of My Mind” — which garnered early support from NPR and Consequence — as the first two chapters of a three-part short film leading up to the release of Space Island. Together, the tracks touch on the transitions we face in life and the importance of processing emotional difficulties. In Chapter 1, “Piece Of My Mind” describes the many paradoxes we encounter when we try to escape our problems and is accompanied by a B-movie-inspired visual filmed on the duo’s home turf of New Zealand – PRESS HERE to watch. Meanwhile, Chapter 2’s “Heartbreak” picks up where the previous visual leaves off and speaks to the acceptance of loss, using it as an opportunity to fall apart and find yourself.
“In the second chapter we step away from denial and into the darker corners of our ‘Heartbreak.’ Where the things that hurt the most become a guide back to ourselves,” adds Georgia. “They become the teachers that help us empathize with ourselves, and through that, connects us to a deeper kindness for others. To let your heartbreak is not just a fearless and freeing thing to do, but a selfless act of love as well.”
BROODS’ forthcoming 10-track LP Space Island is an exploration of grief and all its many dimensions: its unpredictable nature and refusal to follow any linear path, its incredible capacity to bring great clarity and transformation. The album came to life during a period of serious upheaval for lead vocalist Georgia. Having married at the age of 21, she went through a difficult divorce soon after the release of 2019’s Don’t Feed the Pop Monster, a record that led to appearances on Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Late Late Show with James Corden. As Georgia turned to songwriting as a means of processing her grief, she and her brother/bandmate Caleb discovered an unlikely but wholly fitting vessel for that emotional outpouring.
“One thing about the experience of grief is that it makes you feel like you’re a bit out of orbit or isolated in a very big feeling. The more we figured out the strange logic of Space Island, the more the music started to reflect what was happening in the lyrics,” shares Georgia. She continues, “with the production, we wanted to make it sound like you were on this kind of jet pack trip where everything is shifting, where you’re escaping to this unknown world called Space Island.”
In sculpting the forward-thinking yet nostalgic sound of Space Island, BROODSmostly worked on their own in their home studio, occasionally joining forces with friends/producers like Leroy Clampitt (Justin Bieber, Madison Beer, Ashe, FLETCHER) and Stint (MØ, Carly Rae Jepsen, Olivia O’Brien, Gallant) while Caleb names playfully inventive artists such as Danger Mouse and Gorillaz among his key touchstones in the album’s production. Crystallized in a gorgeous constellation of sonic details—otherworldly beats, swooning guitar tones, effervescent synth lines—the album emerged from a period of unbridled experimentation that involved abundant use of Caleb’s Farfisa, providing a unique blend of sounds as if the listener is being sent off into space. Along with new single “Heartbreak” and “Piece of My Mind,” the album taps into an array of emotional states from toxic manipulation on the delicate and dreamy “Gaslight,” to introspection on the brightly upbeat “If You Fall In Love,” and self-discovery on “I Keep” which features the duo’s longtime collaborator Tove Lo who joins in with her luminous vocal work. BROODS have ultimately created something of a charmed haven with Space Island for all those who need healing as they introduce a dazzling new intensity into their atmospheric indie-pop.
‘Space Island’ Track Listing:
1. Goodbye World, Hello Space Island
2. Piece Of My Mind
3. Heartbreak
4. Distance And Drugs
5. I Keep (feat. Tove Lo)
6. Like A Woman
7. Gaslight
8. Days Are Passing
9. Alien
10. If You Fall In Love
ABOUT BROODS:
Born into an exceptionally musical family, indie-pop siblings made their breakthrough as BROODS in 2014 with the release of their hit single “Bridges” and debut chart-topping album Evergreen which reached #45 on the Billboard 200 chart, debuted at #1 on the New Zealand Albums Chart, and #5 on the Australian Albums Chart. In 2016, the duo released their sophomore album Conscious featuring lead single “Free” which reached the Top 10 on Spotify’s U.S. Viral Chart, and featured the Lorde-penned “Heartlines,” and “Freak Of Nature” ft. Tove Lo.
In 2018, the duo released their critically acclaimed album Don’t Feed The Pop Monster and have garnered praise from the likes of NPR, Billboard, Grammy, USA Today, MTV, Refinery29, W Magazine, Under The Radar, Complex, CR Fashion Book, and more. In addition to television appearances on Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Late Late Show with James Corden, and Conan, and festival performances at Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Outside Lands, BROODS has shared stages with Taylor Swift, Ellie Goulding, Sam Smith, Haim, Tove Lo, CHVRCHES and collaborated with Troye Sivan, Jarryd James, San Holo, and most recently on Ladyhawke’s track “Guilty Love.” With over 1 billion streams of their music across DSPs, there’s no stopping them as they enter this next era.
