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

Broods Broods is a New Zealand musical duo from Nelson, 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", which w ...

, released on 24 June 2016. It builds on the electropop sound established in their 2014 debut, ''

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

'', 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 has been called "Sweden's darkest pop export" by ''Rolling Stone.'' She is known for her raw, grunge-influenced take o ...

and Lorde, and was preceded in April 2016 by the

RMNZ 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 Mu ...

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 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 (also known as a debut 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. Release s ...

. It debuted at No. 30 on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) 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 Music ...

and has since reached a peak position of 21; it has also been certified Gold by Recorded Music NZ. The single is their highest-charting entry to date on the Australian Singles Chart 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 rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

(or alternative) radio on 12 April 2016 and serves as the duo's third official single in that territory. " Heartlines", co-written by Lorde, 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 present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

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, or 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 ...

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 Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

. 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, pr ...

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'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the '' ...

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 Top Album Sales is a music chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine starting in December 2014. It is a weekly chart documenting the best-selling albums on a weekly basis in the United States. Up until December 2014, this had been documented by th ...

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, fi ...

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

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. 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 trio is composed of Ben Berger, Ryan McMahon and Ryan Rabin (son of Trevor), drummer and producer of the band Grouplove. Collectively they have produced and ...

– 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 Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated comm ...

– mixer *

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work. Life and career ...

– mixer * Joel Little —

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

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