BROODS have dropped a brand new single, video and news of an upcoming new studio album.
Titled ‘Heartbreak’, the groovetastic, slicked-back, space-age bop is the second taster of forthcoming full-length ‘Space Island’, which is set for release on 18th February via Island Records Australia / Ingrooves. You can pre-order the record 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,” explains Georgia Nott of the sibling duo 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.”
‘Heartbreak’s video is the second instalment a three-part short film leading up to the release of the record, following up on previous single ‘Piece Of My Mind’. Animated by Dr. Foothead (Adult Swim, Babe Rainbow, The Oh Sees) and produced by Alex McCrossin, the clips combine to tell a story touching on the transitions of modern life, and the need to process emotional difficulties. This time around, it’s the acceptance of loss, and the opportunity to find yourself in our most difficult moments, that takes the focus.
“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,” explains 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.”
We dropped Georgia a few questions to find out more.
“Heartbreak” is a very personal track inspired by real-life experiences that Georgia went through. Was it difficult to write a song like this?
This song was actually one of the most fun songs to write. It’s about letting yourself fall apart but sonically it has so much confidence. There’s something really therapeutic and empowering about that to me. I think it takes a lot of strength to feel things fully and keep your heart open through the process. When we wrote it, it became a reminder to be patient with myself but also not feel sorry for myself. Heartbreak is an unavoidable experience and learning to appreciate that experience is an essential life lesson. It has the potential to change us for the better and I feel a much deeper sense of empathy toward myself and other people now. I intentionally stayed with everything and I held my broken heart in a gentle and healthy way.
What kind of message do you hope fans take away after listening to it?
To me, this song is about fearlessness. It’s about not turning away when things are a bit ugly and painful. Grieving anything is exhausting and it requires a lot of love. Music and art in general is so supportive through that. I listened to ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ over and over and it pulled me along on some really rough days. I just wanna do that for other people on their days like that.
Tell us about the music video for “Heartbreak,” how does this continue the story we see in Chapter 1’s “Piece Of My Mind” music video?
Well, ‘Piece of My Mind’ is all about denial, escaping dark places and losing yourself in elaborate fantasies in an attempt to comfort yourself. ‘Heartbreak’ is about diving down that deep hole and spending some time with your own demons. In the wake of my own breakup, I was reading a lot about mindfulness and one of the things that stuck with me was the idea that the process of finding enlightenment isn’t up and out, but rather down and in. We often hear the phrase “rise above it” when we’re dealing with pain but there is something to be said about going the opposite direction. Descending down into the core of it with curiosity and love and eventually finding acceptance. I love that the video reflects that experience.
You can check out the video for ‘Heartbreak’ for the first time anywhere below.
‘Space Island’ takes a similar vibe, exploring grief in its many dimensions. Created during a period of upheaval for Georgia – who went through a difficult divorce soon after the release of 2019’s ‘Don’t Feed The Pop Monster’, writing the record became a way to process the grief. Alongside her brother and bandmate Caleb, they found a way to turn the emotions into something positive.
“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.”
‘Space Island’ was mostly created on their own, in the band’s own home studio, occasionally joining up with friends and producers including Leroy Clampitt (Justin Bieber, Madison Beer, Ashe, Fletcher) and Stint (MØ, Carly Rae Jepsen). There’s also a guest appearance from longtime collaborator Tove Lo, who appears on ‘I Keep’.
The tracklisting for ‘Space Island’ reads:
- Goodbye World, Hello Space Island
- Piece Of My Mind
- Heartbreak
- Distance And Drugs
- I Keep (feat. Tove Lo)
- Like A Woman
- Gaslight
- Days Are Passing
- Alien
- If You Fall In Love
