As the British rock revival gets stronger Bedford quartet Don Broco are making a real stir all of their own. Wielding monumental hooks and melodies, since the release of last year's Big Fat Smile EP the band have been on a diligent upward trajectory and this has led to the creation of their superb debut album Priorities, a record of ranging moods and styles that come together as a killer combination. With its debut single and title-track sparking a fire all over the place at the moment, the album looks set to catapult the band to a new level.
We caught up with the band to chat about these matters at hand and find out what's happening in the world of the Broco during these important and exciting times.
R13: With the album's highly anticipated August release and your signing to Sony it feels like everything is massively taking off for you guys, it reminds of the success that bands like Hundred Reasons had in the early 00s, so what's life like in the world of the Broco at the moment for you personally?
Rob Damiani (vocals): Well I definitely agree with you in the sense of the British rock revival that's happening, I mean that time when bands like Reuben and Hundred Reasons were playing, that was what we listened to growing up so it's great to feel a part of something like that happening again. Bands like Lower Than Atlantis and Deaf Havana are really doing well so it's definitely a good time to be doing it and we feel at the moment, we had a really successful year last year with the release of the EP and now this year for the album to be picked up by a major label, we couldn't wish for anything more so it feels really good and we can't wait for more people to hear the new songs.
Matt Donnelly (drums): I can't really add anything to that! (laughs), it's really exciting, it's been hard to find a moment to sit down and take stock because so much is happening so fast now and when you think how soon it is until the album comes out, realistically speaking, it's really exciting, we can't wait for more people to hear it and get some reactions.
R13: Do you feel the album's strength comes from its diversity? Parts of it are sassy while others are angry and some moments are actually quite sombre, do you feel that that's where its real strong point lies?
Simon Delaney (guitar): Definitely, I mean when we wrote it we were really conscious of the fact that all the songs were coming out very differently, there's a real diversity on there and a mixture of styles and a lot of that was helped by our producer who was quite out there with his ideas and would say 'why don't we try this song in this kind of vein'. We couldn't be happier with the end result because all my favourite albums are albums that are really varied and where all the songs have their own identity so I was stoked that the record came out in that kind of way, where it keeps its freshness, that sounds really arrogant! (laughs) but no I like the fact that all the tracks are really varied.
R13: What do you realistically think it's going to do for you guys? Do you feel it's going to take you to the next level?
RD: Yeah we'd love for it to get out there and hopefully to people who don't listen to rock music or go to underground gigs as well and also for it to reach the wider musical spectrum instead of just the underground British rock scene. We're really proud and we think it's pretty diverse and that a lot of people will be able to get into it.
R13: You guys have got Download and Slam Dunk for example in the summer, will those be opportunities to air some more songs from the new album?
RD: Yeah well we're talking about playing a few new songs at these festivals and giving them a first live experience, at the moment we're only playing two from the album in the live set so we can't wait to get relearning the songs and then exposing them to a crowd so yeah they're definitely going to be a chance to do that. Apart from the tour we've got lined-up with Futures in July, the festivals are going to be the main things we're concentrating on over the summer so we're going to make those as big as possible.
R13: You mentioned Lower Than Atlantis and Deaf Havana, what other rising British bands would you like to see doing as well as yourselves?
RD: It's quite hard to pick, I mean there are so many UK bands out there who we love.
SD: The guys who are currently giving their album away with Rock Sound magazine Burn The Fleet, they're one of our favourite bands, they're insane and good mates of ours so we'd love for them to start getting more recognition because they deserve it, they're awesome.
R13: And upon the album's release in August what are the plans for the rest of the year?
RD: The Futures tour in July is now the main tour we're looking forward to and then we're going to be doing a lot of touring for the rest of the year after that but we can't say anything yet. It's going to be a busy few months promoting the next single which we're choosing at the moment and are going to be shooting a video for and then more singles further down the line next year. Fingers crossed for a headline tour either towards the end of this year or the beginning of next year so it's all moving quickly and we don't seem to have any spare time anymore because we've always got something new to think about.
R13: To finish up, if you could sum up the band's attitude right now in 2012 in one word what would you say?
MD: This is always a tough one (laughs).
RD: I guess you could say 'excited', excited for how the year's going to pan out because there's so much going on and there's so much we're looking forward to, it's a pretty all-consuming word I think.
SD: Yeah I think that covers it because there's so much coming up that we know is going to happen but we don't know what the outcome will be and I can't wait to find out.
Chances are that things are going to pan out very well indeed. The album is an addictive mix that threatens to break the barrier between the rock world and the mainstream and if the reaction to its first single is anything to go by, come August 13th Don Broco are going to be well on their way to a whole other level.
A huge thanks to the guys for an interesting and informative chat and be sure to pick up a copy of Priorities on August 13th. Before that though go and download a copy of the gargantuan title-track after you've read this, it's the huge melodic rock song you've been waiting for and that's a firm promise.