SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: BROADS – VACANCY

Broads
Vacancy
Independent

One of the joys of reviewing music is stumbling upon artists that you might not otherwise know much about or have to opportunity to hear.  This band is a wonderful discovery for me.

Broads is a Melbourne based band, comprised of Kelly Day and Jane Hendry.  Vacancy is their debut album (the have issued an EP in 2014).  For this album, they are joined by Alex O’Gorman (bass), Sarah Galdes(drums) and Matt Dixon and Dan Lethbridge (electric guitars).  Their music sounds a little out of time, and little ahead of time.  They seem to have a deep love of classic country (check out “The Valley” and think of The Brown Family recording in Brooklyn and being produced by Sufjan Stevens).  This makes for a rather interesting listening experience.

The sound is firmly rooted in acoustic, with sparse accompaniment.  But that is exactly what this duo needs.  Gades uses her drums sparingly and yet they would be sorely missed were they not there.  The band as a whole is tight and Alex O’Gorman (from the legendary Australian band, Big Smoke) provides subtle bass which matches perfectly with the voices of Day and Hendry.

Their voices sound a lot like Jane Siberry, The McGarriagle Sisters and The Roaches.  These are favourably comparisons.  They don’t so much take from these artists, but use them as a frame of reference.  “Winter’s Bed”, an accapella song is breathtaking in its beauty and deceptive simplicity.  It is clearly one highlight off the album full of top notch songs.

They would benefit with mixing it up a little and throwing in some surprises to keep the listener guessing, but this is a small factor in an otherwise solid debut album.

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