Talking of their formative years as a band, with members separated by the best part of a three hour drive between Nottingham and Norwich Universities, vocalist of Don Broco, Rob Damiani, maintains that this academic period was when “things really clicked in” for the boys from Bedford. Rob appears to recall these years spent moulding their personalities fondly ÔÇô “I remember we got to play the UEA, which is the big venue in Norwich. They had a band society evening where all these University bands played this massive stage which was ridiculous and way too big for everyone; but, it was quite a lot of fun”. However, the years weren’t simply frittered away in youthful glee ÔÇô “I think getting to go to Uni gave us time out from the local scene. The great thing about Uni is there’s so much new music and new experiences to write about and sing about. We were definitely exposed to a lot more stuff”. It was these new experiences that really cemented what we know now as Don Broco. “It was then that we wrote our first song as Don Broco called ÔÇÿWat’cha Gonna Do?’ and that was a turning point for us as a band; we thought ÔÇÿOk, there’s something here in this song that we really like and we’re going to try and take it to the next level now and really work it and give this band a shot’. The rest is history!”
The aspirational attitude that was clearly apparent during Don Broco’s University years, whether they realised it or not, remains present on upcoming album ÔÇÿAutomatic’. They don’t rest on their laurels; they don’t play anything safe; instead they’ve gone all out. All out on a 1980s pop-rock theme, which they didn’t seem to notice was even happening ÔÇô “it was something we kind of stumbled upon after we’d written a collection of songs. We started out with the mind-set of writing just whatever we wanted to write with nothing holding us back. When it came to us choosing which tracks were going to make it onto the album, it ended up being the theme that wasn’t apparent when we actually started writing them. It was something that Jason, our producer, picked up when he was hearing the demos and working out what songs we wanted to take forward to the album”. The theme works wonders with Tom Doyle’s slap bass style and drummer Matt Donnely’s surprisingly brilliant falsetto ability. “The beauty of ÔÇÿAutomatic’; allowing ourselves to write so many songs, it gave us the option that when it came to picking the songs there was a unifying musical theme”. You only have to listen to opening track ÔÇÿSuperlove’ to realise the Broco boys were on to something when they went for this.
In the latter half of the album, there even appear a few glimpses of Damiani’s softer side as he sings about relationships that didn’t quite work out, moving on and regret on tracks such as ÔÇÿLet You Get Away’ and ÔÇÿI Got Sick’. It’s safe to say that quite such tender topics were not as overtly present on debut album, ÔÇÿPriorities’; but that’s not to say that Don Broco have any plans on ditching the fun ÔÇô “The reason you’re doing whatever you’re doing in life should be because you enjoy it. For us as a band it’s when we’re having fun with it and pushing ourselves musically, trying things out, that we’re enjoying it the most. We wanted to get that across on the record, that sense of enjoyment”. If we’re lucky it might even translate to an 80s stylised, synchronised dance move to rival ÔÇÿThe Walk’ – “We’ll never say never; if something happens spontaneously like it did with ÔÇÿPriorities’ where we end up just mucking around in a practice room and it pops up and it warranted coming in then I think it would be worth doing”.
However, its one thing┬áabout hearing an ever so slightly, yet brilliantly re-stylised Don Broco on record and another thing seeing it live. “When you first write them you get an initial buzz and just want to play it to everyone and you can’t. It’s at that point now when we just want everyone to hear it, put it out there and feel good about really working the album by getting to play it”. Fortunately for Rob and the band, completed by guitarist Simon Delaney, they’ve got a few things in the diary to look forward to. One stands out at the end of the year, tall and ominous above the rest. That is Brixton Academy, what will be their biggest headline show to date ÔÇô “Yeah it’s scary, but ultimately it’s the next step for us to take after the Roundhouse. But, we definitely feel a little bit daunted by the prospect of playing it but at the same time we’re absolutely gagging to do it. We feel ready for it as a band. Once everyone knows the album it will be wicked”.
Once again, never fear Broco fans! In exactly the same way that Don Broco are moving forward without forgetting their roots sonically, they refuse to do so in the live arena. Proving so by heading out on their smallest tour since 2011 and they can’t wait. “It’s wicked to play the big stages and the big festival slots. It is incredible and it’s one of those things you can tick off, that you’ve done. But, I’m sure most people in bands, most artists will tell you that the up close and personal vibe at a tiny show when you’re all crammed into a sweatbox and everyone’s jumping all over the place. You get that extra air of mania; the energy is even more in your face. We really thrive off that and we wanted to give something back to the fans that have stuck with us over the years”.
With their heads held high, directed at the plethora of opportunities awaiting them on the horizon. Don Broco eagerly await the adventure that their exciting sophomore album, ÔÇÿAutomatic’ is undoubtedly going to take them on.
JACK GLASSCOCK
