Recorded at Beetroot Studios in Airdrie with producer and engineer Stuart MacLeod, Brontës’ eponymous album is a sassy slice of sophisticated pop. Imagine the Tom Tom Club jamming with Chrissie Hynde. A band that has been maturing and building live buzz since their very first single, this promises to be a huge crowd pleaser. We sat down with the band to discuss their upcoming album.
Your debut album is described as both “sassy and jangly” but also your most vulnerable work yet. What pushed you as a band to open up in that way on this record?
There were a lot of bottled up feelings across the board, and we decided to start putting the way we were all feeling out into the music. Rather than hiding behind busy musical patterns we wanted to bring the lyrics forward and push them up. Our songs have a completely different meaning to us and we feel much more connected to the art. Glasgow has such a strong music scene.
How has growing up and playing gigs there shaped the sound and attitude of Brontës?
We grew up playing gigs with each other, trying out different influences through our early days finding that we resonated with pop the most. For years we have been going to gigs in the Glasgow music scene together, making friends and meeting people who are into the same stuff as us. This has given us great memories and opportunities in the scene just from embracing the community in music here.
Wouldn’t Be Me is a playful but sharp take on disliking someone’s boyfriend. What inspired that song, and have any real-life situations crept into the lyrics?
Amelia used to work in a cafe and saw a lot of first dates, it used to frustrate her seeing the girl always arrive with a nice outfit, good hair and had made an effort. When on the other side of the table the guy would have rolled out of bed, sat on his phone the whole time and looked disinterested. It sparked a conversation with the band and we decided to write about it.
You recorded the album at Beetroot Studios with Stuart MacLeod. Was there a particular moment in the studio where you felt the album really come together?
We had gone into the studio feeling nervous about the tracks as we had a very quick turnover on deciding we wanted all new music. Originally it was 6 we got together and it was going to be an EP, we turned up to Beetroot with 6 chord progressions, drum parts and lyrics.. and nothing else. The tracks came naturally to us in the studio and most likely down to the ‘can’t overthink’ element due to constricted time, the new parts decorated the basis of the tracks perfectly. When we got to the final recording of the first session, we all decided this was unfinished and 4 more tracks had to be written. We came back a month later and that was when it really came together.
Your influences range from Blondie and The Ronettes to Sabrina Carpenter. How do those different eras of pop music collide in the Brontës sound?
Eva has a unique wispy tone to her voice, which reminds us of the rawness and effortlessness of pop singers in the 60s. In college Katie, Amelia and Eva covered quite a lot of songs from this era; making us take a liking to the simplistic yet high standard these tracks held. Our music has always been on the rockier side, which is where influences like Blondie come in; heavy music with a beautifully melodic vocal. Lastly, we all love current pop icons like Sabrina Carpenter in terms of being able to be witty and sassy with your lyrics whilst getting a strong message across.
You’ve been building momentum on the live circuit since 2021. When fans finally hear the full album, what side of Brontës do you think will surprise them most?
There are real elements of rock and roll in there which I think will catch people, Erin’s guitar playing has always been quite King’s of Leon and this takes moments to shine through. It is a record that sounds like it could have been made in early 80s America, people may be surprised that it is a band from Glasgow that started in 2021 that made it.