Brontes “S/T”

Brontes are a new band to us, but we understand they have been around for a few years. Spoiler alert…this shows in the quality of the songs on this release. The promise of an album that is a “sassy slice of sophisticated pop inspired by The Ronettes, Blondie and Sabrina Carpenter” certainly appealed to us. That was particularly true when we learnt it was being released by the excellent Last Night From Glasgow (who previous brought us the brilliant Pearl Charles album).

This album opens up joyfully with the chiming guitars and smooth vocals on “Cognitive Dissonance”. It’s an absolutely gorgeous song which has you instantly feeling like you are lying on the grass on a glorious sunny day. To be fair, that’s the same feeling you get with songs like “Thelma and Louise” and “Bad Manners”. They’re all beautiful songs that just make you feel good.

Importantly Brontes don’t just get stuck on a familiar pattern to their music. On “Asking For A Friend” there’s an added indie edge and then “Wouldn’t Be Me” and “Mixed Signals” have more of a power pop feel. But even when expanding out their sound, the emphasis always remains on catchy melodies.

It seems quite appropriate that they have a song called “San Francisco” as many of the songs have that kind of west coast sunny harmonies feel. It means that Brontes continue a trend of Scottish bands that seem influenced by that sound. Maybe it’s a kick back against the typically wet Scottish weather!? Certainly tracks like “I Think I Love You” and “Jigsaw” feel like they have been influenced by sunnier climates.

This is a really great album and one that feels like it could have a big commercial impact. It will be interesting to see what kind of audience Brontes attract. They could quite easily attract the ‘cool indie kids’ who follow the likes of Haim and like to flaunt their Fleetwood Mac influences. However, and we mean this as a positive, they could pick up more of a mainstream/commercial following and be “the new Sheryl Crow”. Hopefully, as shown by someone like Olivia Rodrigo, they can pick up all of them! Regardless of that, you should make sure that you are one of the first to follow the band.