''Conscious'' is the second studio album recorded by New Zealand music duo

Broods Broods are a musical duo from Nelson, New Zealand, composed of Georgia Josiena Nott on lead vocals, with older brother and multi-instrumentalist Caleb Allan Joseph Nott on production and backing vocals. They released the single "Bridges (Broo ...

, released on 24 June 2016. It builds on the

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

sound established in their 2014 debut, ''

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

'', with elements of industrial and R&B. The album includes collaborations with

Tove Lo Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson (born 29 October 1987), known professionally as Tove Lo (), is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She is known for her raw, grunge-influenced take on pop music. Referring to her autobiographical lyrics, ''Out (magazine), O ...

and

Lorde Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. She is known for her unconventional style of pop music and introspective songwriting, and has been referred to ...

, and was preceded in April 2016 by the RMNZ Gold-certified single, " Free". Upon release, ''Conscious'' was met with generally positive reviews and debuted at 1 and 2, respectively, on the New Zealand and Australian album charts. In the US, the album charted lower than ''Evergreen'' on the ''Billboard'' 200 at 52 but reached career highs on the Rock and Alternative charts.

Background and development

In August 2014, Broods released their debut album, which was produced entirely by Joel Little. It was preceded by the single " Mother & Father". The album received positive reviews and was successful in their home country of New Zealand, charting at number 1. After the album was released the duo embarked on a tour, which also visited the United States. In April 2016, the duo opened for British singer-songwriter

Ellie Goulding Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer, songwriter, and activist. Born in Hereford and raised in Lyonshall, Goulding began writing songs at the age of 15. She released her debut single " Under the Sheets" through ...

for select US dates on her Delirium World Tour. On April 18, the duo announced the Conscious tour and released the album artwork and track listing.

Singles

" Free" was released 1 April 2016 as the album's

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

. It debuted at No. 30 on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The M ...

and has since reached a peak position of 21; it has also been certified Gold by

Recorded Music NZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...

. The single is their highest-charting entry to date on the

Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

at its peak of 30. "Free" impacted American

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...

(or alternative) radio on 12 April 2016 and serves as the duo's third official single in that territory. " Heartlines", co-written by

, was also released as a promotional track on 10 June 2016. It reached No. 3 on the New Zealand Heatseekers chart. Its music video was released on 29 July 2016. The song was serviced to American

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

radio on 16 January 2017 as the album's second official single.

Other songs

The duo released "Couldn't Believe" to digital retailers on 20 May 2016 as the first

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

to support pre-orders. It peaked at number 4 on the New Zealand Heatseeker Singles chart and also charted at No. 81 in Australia.

Commercial performance

''Conscious'' debuted at number one on the New Zealand Top 40 Albums Chart and stayed there for four weeks, becoming their second consecutive chart-topper, after 2014's ''Evergreen''. In Australia, the album entered the ARIA Top 100 Album Chart at a career-high position of 2, beaten out by '' The Getaway'' by the

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...

. In the United States, ''Conscious'' sold 7,000 units in its first week and debuted at career highs of 5 and 7 on the

Top Alternative Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

and

Top Rock Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

charts, respectively. ''Conscious'' charted lower than its predecessor on the ''Billboard'' 200 (at No. 52) due to low streaming values but outsold ''Evergreen'' by twenty positions, reaching No. 25 on the

Top Album Sales The Top Album Sales is a music chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine listing each week's top-selling albums in the United States. The chart has been published since December 13, 2014, although the magazine also retrospectively recognize ...

component chart.

Critical reception

Pryor Stroud for

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

noted "Broods have concocted a record of marked consistency, one that commands attention from its first wail to its last syllable." Writing for ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'', Tim Forster criticised the album's "failure to shake listeners awake and captivate them with memorable moments."

Track listing

Track listing taken from iTunes. Notes * indicates a co-producer

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. Broods * Caleb Nott – background vocals , drum programming , keyboards , bass guitar , programming , percussion * Georgia Nott – vocals , background vocals , keyboards , piano , organ Additional musicians *

Joel Little Joel Little (born 13 February 1983) is a New Zealand record producer, musician and Grammy Award-winning songwriter.

– drum programming , programming , background vocals , keyboards , percussion *

Captain Cuts Captain Cuts is a songwriting, record production and remix team based in Los Angeles. The duo is composed of Ben Berger and Ryan Rabin (also formerly drummer and producer of the band Grouplove), but they also included Ryan McMahon. Collectively t ...

– programming * Alex Hope – keyboards, programming *

– vocals * Olivia Nott – background vocals * Rachel Wells – cello * Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper – string arrangement, violin * Iselta Alison – viola * Jessica Hindin – violin Technical *

Rich Costey Richard Costey is an American music producer, mixer, and engineer. He has worked with musicians across genres including rock, indie, pop, hip-hop, and electronica. Notable collaborators include Fiona Apple, Vampire Weekend, Foo Fighters, Sig ...

– mixer *

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is a Guatemalan-American record mixing engineer. He has been credited on albums for high-profile pop, R&B, hip hop and rock acts. He has worked with artists including Rihanna, Kanye West, Katy Perry ...

– mixer * Joel Little —

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, mixer * Captain Cuts – engineer * Alex Hope – engineer * Jason Huss – engineer * Olly Harmer – engineer *

– engineer * Martin Cooke – assistant mixer * Nicolas Fournier – assistant mixer * Chris Galland – assistant mixer * Ike Schultz – assistant mixer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 2016 albums Broods albums Polydor Records albums Island Records albums Universal Music Australia albums Albums produced by Joel Little Albums produced by Alex Hope (songwriter)