Broods on being axed by their label, battling depression, and their 'weird' new album

Broods: "We want to [make music] in a way that's fresh and new and weird, otherwise it's just f**king boring." Photo / Kelia Anne

Georgia and Caleb Nott can't sit still. They fidget and throw their hands around as they talk, their sentences broken by bursts of wild laughter. Their energy is infectious - from their brightly coloured clothes to Georgia's rose-pink hair – and it radiates from them.

The Notts, more famously known as Broods, are talking about Peach, their new single. It's the first taste of their upcoming third album – and it's like nothing they've ever written before.

"It's a bit of a journey. The sonic landscape changes like that," says Caleb, snapping his fingers. "We want it to just be like" – he mimes an explosion – "and just like, 'oh shit!' It jumps pretty aggressively into somewhere else."

"People get whiplash after listening to it," says Georgia. "We didn't try and tone down the dynamics of it. We were just like, 'You know what? We're just going to do what we want.'"

That freedom – and defiance - came from a terrifying change in Broods' career: being dropped by their US label, Capitol Records.

"I think we wanted to be something different than what they saw us being," says Georgia. "They signed us to be a huge pop act, and that doesn't come naturally to us."

Caleb adds: "We wanted to be that, but we wanted to do it in a different way than they wanted. We want to do it in a way that's fresh and new and weird, otherwise it's just f***ing boring."

It was a scary time for the siblings as they faced an uncertain future. But just as things were starting to look hopeless, New York-based label Neon Gold came calling.

"We had no money," says Caleb. "I was in debt for a month, just before the changeover. It was perfect timing; I thought I was going to have to move back to Nelson and live with my parents."

With the new record - tentatively titled Don't Feed the Pop Monster - written and ready, Georgia and Caleb were attracted to Neon Gold for their belief in Broods' new direction. They both rave about the label, describing it as the kind of parent who comes to every soccer game you play. "Not the one that only comes to the second half of your final and he's on the phone the whole time," says Georgia.

For their third album, Broods are shedding an old skin and embracing a theatrical new style to match their more daring songwriting. Their latest photo shoot frames them in vintage pink, almost parodying the idea of a constructed pop star. With wooden posture and inscrutable expressions, they stare you down, asking you to listen closely.

And you should. Opening single Peach is a joyride; it begins softly, before the chorus explodes to life with shouts of children cheering. Musically, it swings from soaring highs to subtle lows, which is mirrored in the lyrics: they're high, then they're low, "but everything's looking peach now".

"We both have pretty bad anxiety problems," says Caleb. "[Peach] is about just celebrating being good. When you just feel really fine. Not over the top good, or really low."

"Every emotion just comes at us like full war," says Georgia. "There are rare moments where you're just like, 'Oh, I think I'm content right now.'"

The siblings, who grew up in Nelson and moved to Los Angeles two years ago, have been making music together since they were children and are used to transforming those emotions into art.

"When you write music and make art, you kind of sit and bathe in your own shit, you know," says Georgia. "You overanalyse shit in your head. And it's amazing because you get to create poetry, or make a painting, or make a song, and it's so beautiful. You feel like your struggles have been productive."

"And it's so free, you can do whatever you want," says Caleb. "That's another thing with this song and this record, we were able to do everything that we wanted to do because we didn't have anyone breathing down our neck, telling us no. It was the most freeing experience … there were no rules."

Broods: "[Peach] is about just celebrating being good. When you just feel really fine." Photo / Kelia Anne

For Caleb, the record signals a new milestone with the song Too Proud, his first as the lead vocalist. It's a harrowing, personal track that explores the depression he experienced between albums.

"Last year, there was a period of time where there wasn't anything going on, and I was just like, 'F*** – what am I doing, why am I here?'" he says. "I just got really deep in my own hole. I didn't even notice until I came out of it.

"That's when I wrote it, when I was actually happier. Once you sit back and go, 'oh, shit', that was when I was able to reflect on how I was feeling."

That song came into being on a writing trip to Nicaragua, set up by producer Joel Little for a group of Kiwi songwriters. "It was beautiful," says Georgia. "We were just writing songs in tree huts. Everyone was just so chill and loved having deep and meaningful conversations over a drink at night. I think I cried every day, sometimes with sadness, sometimes with joy."

Those experiences have culminated in Broods' most authentic album to date. It comes from the voice of a duo who have been chewed up and spat out by the LA machine; they've seen the ugly side of their industry, but refused to let it diminish their love of music.

"It's not feeding the pop monster; it's feeding the pop angel," says Georgia. "It's about trying to do it for the reasons that you came in to do it, and I think that's what we've figured out this album … We're doing this because we like to experiment and be weird and be ourselves; and be bright and colourful."

Adds Caleb: "How we've been portrayed in media in the past and in photoshoots and that, it's all been like, super clean cut and monotone. But we've never been those people."

"We're looking back and we're like, that's not me. Smile," says Georgia. "There are enough people acting like they're bored in the world. We're not bored."

LOWDOWN:
Who: Broods
What: New single Peach
When: Available on streaming services from 1pm today