Concert review: Broods, Auckland Town Hall

Georgia Nott from Broods. Photo/Getty

It's hard to believe that Georgia and Caleb Nott have only been making music together as Broods for just over a year. Especially considering the year they've had; making waves in America, opening for British pop star Ellie Goulding and touring with Grammy winner Sam Smith.

What wasn't surprising was the warm welcome home Broods received at Auckland's Town Hall last night.

Shrieks of excitement filled the venue, along with the sound of rain and crashing thunder before the Nelson duo opened the evening with an electric Never Gonna Change.

Everything in their live performance felt heightened, the throbbing bass more intense. Caleb manned the synth keys, laying down his husky backing vocals as Georgia bounced and grooved her way across the intimate stage. Their drummer created a solid backbone for Broods' airy sound to glide over.

Georgia let loose, throwing herself into the set of passionate choruses and the crowd were right there with her, bobbing their heads in time with the beat.

Broods changed the pace quickly with Sleep Baby Sleep and Killing You, as light projections appeared on white draped sheets on either side of the stage. The emotional melancholy and ghostly songs allowed the rawness of Georgia's stunning voice to come through.

In Taking You There, Caleb plucked furiously on an acoustic guitar, as the drummer stomped steadily, shaker in hand. While Broods' signature electro-pop still kicked in, the song felt more organic and fresh than a lot of their production-heavy music, reminiscent of Australian brother-sister duo Angus and Julia Stone.

As well as playing most of the songs that appear on their self-titled EP and their debut album Evergreen, Broods busted out a couple of new songs, Bedroom Door and Four Walls. Four Walls was elegantly performed with just Caleb's keyboard accompanying Georgia's gentle choral notes, which then built into a fierce sound that filled the room, making hairs raise and drawing applause as she hit in all the right places. She absolutely smashed it.

Broods were showing off their talents the whole night, making what they do look effortlessly fun. Their indie-pop trip-hop style got the crowd moving. Especially during fan favourites L.A.F., where Georgia elatedly 'Running-manned' and 'Dougied', and the duo's hit single Bridges, which featured an excellent broken beat intro, before hands were thrown in the air to dance as the song dropped. Both songs received an extended cheer from the fans, not wanting the night to end.

Broods returned for an encore of Superstar followed by Mother and Father. "I don't really want to leave, but this is literally the last song we can play" Georgia confessed endearingly as they launched into their final song. The duo took centre stage smashing the same drum for Mother and Father, giving their all to the the last moments of their show, which the Town Hall went wild for.

Who: Broods
Where: Town Hall, Auckland
When: Friday, February 13

- nzherald.co.nz