Album Review: Don Broco - Priorities

Relatively new British quartet Don Broco unleash their debut album, Priorities, a thinking man's rock record that features a tight collection of tracks. Complete with jazz and blues influences combined with big open rock choruses, this release is a fresh take on rock'n'roll, challenging the listener to discard the band's apparent eagerness to please by succumbing to Don Broco's obvious charm and succinct songwriting skills.

Title track Priorities gets the ball rolling with a dominating guitar riff while lyrically tackling the hypocrisy of friendships. The track effectively sums up the band's sound with the blues/jazz influences redolent in the verse, and focuses on bringing the rock in the choruses, which works to the band's benefit as it's the contrast between these two elements that provides the band's uniqueness from their peers. Yeah Man broods intensely while Hold On is more rhythmic in its delivery. Here's The Thing sees the band's songwriting prowess in overdrive, with a strategic approach to dynamics within the song. Whole Truth is a straightforward rock number, while You Got It Girl, a sparse sounding track focusing on melody and atmosphere, is an inward look into bitterness and love. Lets Go Back To School picks up the pace, as does Actors, with the latter taking the album's most aggressive stance – a definite highlight.

Don Broco have successfully created a cohesive and textured album that hits all the markers necessary for a great album. As Priorities is heavily produced, it will be paramount to the band's future success to be able to recreate the sound live. We might see them out here someday to put that theory to the test.