Broods share the inspiration, meaning, and importance of juicy anthem “Peach,” their passionate embrace of life’s overwhelming complexity and beautiful intensity.
? ? ? ?
I know it’s hard to see me down
I cry and cry upon the ground
A simple price to pay
For all the love i feel when I’m ok
BROODS’ “Peach” is a brazen, euphoric embrace of life in all its overwhelming complexity and beautiful intensity. A bold, juicy anthem full of fiery emotion and passionate conviction, it’s the perfect introduction to the ever-evolving duo’s third album as they usher in a brand new era of Broods.
“I really do feel like the more I learn about the world or myself, the more I see the flaws,” Georgia Nott shares in Atwood Magazine‘s exclusive interview. Released August 8, 2018 via Broods’ new label Neon Gold/Atlantic Records, “Peach” finds siblings Georgia and Caleb Nott availing themselves to life’s full array of emotions and experiences. Going beyond mere acceptance, the song wholeheartedly welcomes the rollercoaster ride, indulging in the beautiful sensation of feeling something.
Love the peace when I feel alone
It’s a part of me that I never run from
Black and white play in clean surround
Feet on the ground
but I hate it down there
“Love the peace when I feel alone; it’s a part of me that I never run from,” Georgia Nott sings in the opening verse, immediately hitting home with an incredibly raw, honest, and vulnerable lyric. We may not all be comfortable in solitude, but we are all familiar with its serenity. As “Peach” progresses, we hear Nott cycle through a range extreme emotions, seeking to lean into life’s chaos rather than find balance in it.
Hot and cold, young and old
Oh, the more I know
The less I feel right…
I’m high and I’m low
No control
But everything’s looking peach…
Broods’ climactic moment comes through an emphatic indulgence in, quite literally, everything: “No, I don’t need to know what it feels like; Gold, ‘cause everything’s looking peach now,” Nott shouts with grace. Self-assured and ready to take on the world, she explodes with dazzling style and a storm of radiant synths. “Peach” is an embrace of the fullest spectrum of emotion – it’s a little bit of everything coming together in a shimmering pool of being and existence.
Like joy and love, suffering and sorrow are important and necessary aspects of the human experience. “I know it’s hard to see me down, I cry and cry upon the ground,” Nott emotes in a particularly powerful breakdown, going on to call that pain “a simple price to pay for all the love I feel when I’m ok.”
Broods broke almost immediately upon their entrance to the music world in 2014, returning two years later with a bigger and bolder sound on 2016’s sophomore album Conscious. “I think this is us coming out to show the world that we’re not this little breakout artist that fades away,” Caleb Nott told Atwood Magazine at the time.
Two years later, Broods have struck again with their biggest, brightest anthem yet. “Peach” is an exuberant explosion of colorful sounds that embraces the full pendulum as it swings in every direction. A sonic rainbow indulging in the beauty and excitement of feeling alive, “Peach” marks a massive and memorable new chapter in Broods’ enthralling journey. Listen to “Peach” now on Neon Gold/Atlantic Records, and dive into this juicy song as Broods share its inspiration and importance in our exclusive interview!
I want to feel the full spectrum, no matter how many times I have to break and put myself back together to do that.
:: stream/purchase “Peach” here ::
“Peach” – Broods
“PEACH“
Atwood Magazine: Broods seem to find a new musical voice with every passing year. To what do you ascribe this almost constant change?
Georgia Nott: I think it is impossible for any person to stay the same. We are all constantly evolving. The last two and a half years have been pretty full on for us too. We moved to LA, which was a huge adjustment. The weather can be a bit of a mind fuck. The people are so different to in NZ. It feels like a completely different planet sometimes. Being here for the election was a huge culture shock too. Being in the thick of the marches and protests and seeing the art that has come out of this political climate has been incredibly inspiring. That has affected the lyrical content of the new music a lot.
We also changed labels and THAT was intense. There were moments in making this record that we genuinely wondered whether we were even going to get a chance to release this new music. There is always an element of self-doubt surrounding each album process, but in this case it was exasperated by the fact that we were independent for basically the entire making of it. This whole theme of self-doubt is hugely prevalent in the new record.
How does “Peach” usher in the post-Conscious era, and why did you want to “return” with this song in particular?
Broods: “Peach” is definitely an insight into the themes of the new album. The highs and lows are extreme in our own lives and so too in our music these days. Musically we found ourselves exploring a lot more than we ever have. The fact that we were independent for a lot of the writing process meant we had a bit “fuck it, lets try it” attitude in the studio. We didn’t filter our ideas to fit radio. We subconsciously found ourselves making more alternative music to the last albums. We listen to a lot of alt music and old records we grew up with, and there’s definitely a nostalgia in the production as a result of that.
I’m high and I’m low
No control
But everything’s looking peach now
No, I don’t need to know what it feels like; Gold
‘Cause everything looking peach now
No, I don’t need to know what it feels like; Gold
‘Cause everything looking peach now
“Love the peace when I feel alone, it's a part of me that I never run from,” Georgia sings in the opening verse. Why set the scene with these words in particular?
Georgia: Caleb and I are both really introverted people. We both get crazy anxious in crowds or parties (if we’re too sober). We’ve both had to figure out how to be at peace on our own in the past couple of years. I think that’s quite a common shift you feel in your early twenties. There are a lot of growing pains, and learning not to avoid loneliness is a crucial part of finding who you are and who you want to be for me.
Hate the fear when I’m in the crowd
It’s a part of me I can never run from
But colors bright playing in surround
Pull me off the ground where the air is so clear
Learning not to avoid loneliness is a crucial part of finding who you are and who you want to be.
I hear this song as an embrace of our ups and our downs: Rather than bury your dark feelings, you take the good with the bad and dwell in the full experience. Is this a new mindset? Why was it important to relay in song?
Broods: In the five years of being a full-time songwriter and performer, that creative side of our brains is regularly exercised. When you are constantly seeking inspiration from your surroundings you have to keep very open. When you are always open, you are much more easily affected by things. You wear your heart on your sleeve, as the saying goes. It is so exhausting and amazing and terrifying and satisfying all in one. For us, it is worth the down times if we get those moments of complete euphoria. And then there are those moments of bliss: Those moments where everything feels so balanced you could just weep with gratitude. I want to feel the full spectrum, no matter how many times I have to break and put myself back together to do that.
At the same time, I feel my interpretation is contrasted by the lyric, “the more I know, the less I feel right.” How, or rather why did you incorporate uncertainty into this song?
Georgia Nott: I really do feel like the more I learn about the world or myself, the more I see the flaws. When we were kids we had such a stable, sheltered home. We grew up with this perfect family life that protected us from loneliness or pain for the most part. The more we go out and experience, the more we are exposed to the conflicts that human beings have with one another and the world, and you realize that it’s not like that for a lot of people. It makes things seem so off-balance. It’s as if each year you grow older brings an earthquake, separating your world into what you once thought, and what you now have to accept. It separates who you once identified with and makes you estranged from them or yourself. It always seems to change so aggressively and tends to leave a lot of scars for me.
It’s as if each year you grow older brings an earthquake, separating your world into what you once thought, and what you now have to accept.
The prechorus, “I’m high and I’m low, no control, but everything's looking peach,” feels so delightfully different from your previous work. What inspired this breakdown-ish, super treble-y sound?
Georgia: This was one of those “fuck it, let’s try it” moments. We get excited very easily in the studio and egg each other on. We try things because we think it’ll be funny and then fall in love with how we feel when we hear ourselves. It’s like we can hear how much fun we had making that song and go back to that feeling. I think people will definitely be able to hear how much fun we had making this record. I can’t wait.
“Peach” is irrefutably Broods' biggest anthem yet - an exuberant explosion of sound and emotion. What inspired such a massive and colorful Musical outburst? Why now?
Broods: We are colorful people! When we started, we felt like we had to have these moody ‘alter egos’. We were never a couple of monochrome sad sacks. We have our moments, but for the most part we are just taking the piss out of ourselves. We have never taken ourselves seriously, and it’s time for our ‘alter egos’ to become our ‘best day’ selves.
Lastly, how do you hope listeners experience “Peach”? If one message were to stand out amongst the song's many themes, which do you hope people carry with them back into their lives?
Broods: The beauty of the song being so erratic is that whatever you’re feeling at the time, there will be something to connect. Maybe it’ll even remind you that the other sides of yourself are still around when you feel like you’re falling too much to one way. We’ll swing you back in and help you get that peach bliss!
? ?
:: stream/purchase “Peach” here ::
? ? ? ?
Connect to Broods on
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Discover new music on Atwood Magazine
? © Kelia Anne
