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Haven’t they Don well?

I arrived to interview Don Broco before their sold-out headline slot at the O2 Academy last Wednesday to find fangirls already sitting on the pavement. Since the release of the band’s hook-heavy debut, the album and their live reputation have added to their gathering momentum, which was easily seen in the line starting to snake down Cowley Road. The band were running fashionably late, of course, so I hid at the back of soundcheck and waited.

I spoke, ensconced in the maze of corridors that is backstage at the O2, with the lead singer, Rob Damiani. The tour has seen them headlining in places that they came to in support of other bands not long ago and Damiani seemed almost surprised by their rise, describing it as ‘amazing’ when you consider that they ‘were putting on (their) own shows a few years ago and would turn up just hoping there’d be a few people to play to’. This is partially due to the success of the album, from which the fifth and final single ‘Whole Truth’ will be released on April 22nd. The single also has a ‘Club Sex’ remix which is a name the band used to play under for two or three shows when they first started- it was discarded for fear they’d be ‘pigeonholed’, which is fair enough when you consider that the name apparently sprang from a ‘lads holiday in Kavos’.

It would be unfair to dismiss Don Broco as just being ‘laddish’- although the content of many of their songs and videos could be said to fit that description. Throughout the interview Damiani came across as someone who felt that the band shouldn’t be tied down to one style or genre- when asked who he’d like to collaborate with, he named Diplo; when asked who he’d like to see down at the front of one of their shows he said ‘George Clooney looking dapper’. This particularly came through when asked about lyrics- in particular on ‘Back in the Day’, which was written during the riots- and whether he could envisage any more politically-minded songs. Here he strongly declared that ‘I like to not give myself any limitations when it comes to our music’ although he also described himself as not ‘particularly politically-minded’ and this comes across in most things the band do. They’re no concerned with labels- they’re confident in themselves and their ability.

What can we expect next from the band? Apparently work on a second album is underway, although there’s nothing more than ‘a few demos’- at this point we were interrupted by a very cute puppy which was duly cooed over in a perhaps slightly-less-than-rock fashion by both of us, stunting any talk about a possible album. Don Broco’s next single ‘Whole Truth’ is out on Monday April 22nd and their debut album ‘Possibilities’ is out now. The band are heading out to Europe to support We Are The Ocean and they’re thinking about ‘one or two’ big UK festivals but ‘can’t say anything’ yet… I, for one, will definitely be keeping an eye out.

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