Calling New Zealand home, making darkly swirling alternative music and recording exclusively with producer Joel Little (who helmed the entirety of Lorde’s debut, Pure Heroine) has understandably earned Broods a slew of comparisons to a certain 17-year-old pop phenom. Like Lorde, the brother-sister duo of Caleb and Georgia Nott brought a spectacular first single, “Bridges,” to U.S. shores, but the chilly electro-pop opus has not invaded America’s top 40 stations the way “Royals” did in 2013. Although Broods’ debut album, Evergreen, arrives stateside without a tsunami of hype, the pleasures of these 11 songs sneak up on the listener, the sparse arrangements going down easy while hinting at the heights this young act could eventually achieve.
Although Little’s boom-bap drum programming, syrupy bass and dreamy synthesizers are carried over from Lorde’s debut, Broods more closely recalls The xx in their gloomy dance tunes. Singer Georgia spent much of Broods’ self-titled debut EP in a sullen mood, and her delicate disappointment resonates on tracks like “Killing You” and “Medicine.” But “Everytime” proves that her shaking hands can ball themselves into fists, as she rattles off the reasons behind her broken heart: ” ‘Cause it’s never your fault/When you’re keeping your knees clean/And sorry’s below you/It’s always me, always me.”
The stuttering beats can occasionally wash out Georgia’s sensitive mewling, and there’s nothing else on the same plane as the powerhouse “Bridges,” included here as the fourth track. Yet Evergreen generously entertains without transcending, and Broods shows enough of a spark to live up to the expectations set by their debut single.