"Free" is a song by New Zealand indie pop duo Broods from their second studio album, '' Conscious'' (2016). It premiered via BBC Radio 1 on 30 March 2016 before being officially released to digital retailers via

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, Dryden Street, and

Universal Music Australia Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd. (UMA) is the largest Australian music corporation. It is a division of the Universal Music Group. Universal Music Australia's corporate headquarters are located in Sydney, Australia. Labels Universal Musi ...

on 1 April 2016 as the album's lead single. The song was serviced to American modern rock radio on 12 April 2016 through

as the duo's third North American single.

Composition

"Free" is a midtempo

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

about having the freedom to express oneself. The song was written by duo members Caleb and Georgia Nott alongside its producer, Joel Little. A synthwave song with industrial elements, it features prominent synth instrumentation and a rhythmic backbeat evoking a war drum; industry professionals have described the production as "menacing and liberating" as well as more evolved than their previous songs. Georgia Nott explained to Triple J that the song's thematic content arose out of a desire to produce "more mature" songs that deviate from the topic of love and address real issues in people's lives.

Commercial reception

"Free" debuted at number 30 on the New Zealand Singles Chart dated 11 April 2016 and peaked at number 21. It also debuted at number one on the New Zealand Artists chart ranking tracks performed by local artists. In Australia, the song entered the ARIA Top 50 singles chart at number 35 on the chart dated 17 April 2016 and has since peaked at number 30. In the United States, "Free" entered the ''Billboard'' Hot Rock Songs chart at number 47 on the chart dated 23 April 2016, their second entry on the chart. "Free" ranked as the most-added song on alternative radio for the week ending 16 April 2016, with 14 Mediabase-monitored stations. Despite this, it did not reach the ''Billboard''

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart ranking airplay on the format for another two weeks, whereupon it debuted at number 38 on the chart dated 7 May 2016. It has since peaked at 26.

Music video

An accompanying music video was directed by Jessie Hill and premiered on 31 March 2016.

Chart performance

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2016 songs 2016 singles Capitol Records singles Universal Music Group singles Broods songs Songs written by Joel Little Synthwave songs