Bouncing back after 2019's uneven Don't Feed the Pop Monster, New Zealand sibling duo Broods strike a balance between their earlier, moodier work and the synth pop fare that they incorporated into the late 2010s. This time around, on Space Island, personal woes take center stage, as the trauma of Georgia Nott's divorce and subsequent healing process inform these ten insightful tracks. On the opening "Goodbye World, Hello Space Island," she bids the past farewell with a pensive, "Goodbye to the world I know," launching the pair into the future unknown. The first half of the album features this more escapist pop fare, most notably the electrifying gem "Piece of My Mind," whose shimmering synths ride a skittering beat fit for the dancefloor. "Distance and Drugs" -- neither of which were able to salvage this relationship -- morphs alt-R&B smokiness and woozy atmospherics into euphoric electro-pop catharsis. "I Keep" is another urgent injection of driving electronica, pushing Georgia's pleading vocals to an emotional breaking point that winds up being one of her most passionate performances to date. Things take a turn on the second half, with vulnerable laments such as the cleansing "Like a Woman," the fragile "Gaslight," and "Days Are Passing" exposing her for all to see as big brother Caleb's sparse, synth-based production forms a warm nest for her wounded heart. Benefitting from a shortened run time, Space Island is a quick dose of emotion that focuses the pair's vision and finds strength in restraint.
© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo