When whimsical wiles meet sticky hooks that jump in your brain and wallow away in a hazy sonic bliss - welcome to the musical world of Oklahoma indie rockers BRONCHO, a driving and thriving quartet from the States currently traipsing Aussie stages for the first time ever alongside indie-psych lords Methyl Ethel.
With a backstory that comes loaded with arena shows alongside the likes of Queens of the Stone Age and Cage The Elephant, as well as scoring their own North American headline tour and unveiling a recent album 'Bad Behaviour' late last year, BRONCHO are certainly no new kids on the block, and their pairing with the phantasmic stylings of Methyl Ethel is certainly a no-brainer; think hazy dream-pop coated in shadowy infectious shimmers, and you're pretty close to the BRONCHO experience. And before they journeyed to Australia last week to unleash their psych-tinged wares on Aussie soil, we grabbed a few moments with frontman Ryan Lindsey to chat necessities, inspirations and plans for the near future. Interview below.
TIANA SPETER: Well hello, and thank you so much for chatting with The Soundcheck! It’s especially exciting to chat because this week we get you down under for the very first time alongside Methyl Ethel. What are you most looking forward to about heading to Australia? Any particular things on your bucket list you’re hoping to tick off while you’re here?
RYAN LINDSEY: One of the best parts about what we do is going places far away from home. This is the furthest we’ve been so it checks off most the bucket just by flying here.
TIANA: This tour is a match made in experimental rock heaven having you alongside Methyl Ethel. How did this tour come to life?
RYAN: We were asked if we wanted to go to Australia to open up for Methyl Ethel and we said yes!
TIANA: What can us Aussie fans expect from a Broncho show? Any hidden secrets up your sleeves about the shows that you can reveal?
RYAN: What the fine people of Australia can expect from us is a heavy dose of cardio, a few drink breaks and high heart rates.
TIANA: And even though this tour marks your first time on Aussie stages, Broncho are no strangers to touring, you’ve hit up stages all over the USA and Europe, including massive shows alongside Queens of the Stone Age and Cage The Elephant, and your own North American headline tour late last year. Looking back over such a huge variety of shows, are there one or two significant standout moments from these previous performances that still stick with you, whether they’re good, bad or perhaps hilarious?
RYAN: Touring arenas with Queens of the Stone Age was off the charts and so is playing big rooms in Australia with Methyl. I just wanna play, and the bigger the room the louder the speakers. I love playing small rooms especially when they are packed and induce claustrophobia. We will play anywhere. With anyone.
TIANA: This tour gives Broncho another chance to flex out your most recent release ‘Bad Behaviour’ which dropped last year. It beautifully blended a woozy mix of rock, pop, new wave and more, and was just outrageously catchy if I do say so myself. From an insider’s perspective, how has the reaction been to the album now that it’s been out in the world for a while?
RYAN: My mom likes it and that’s all that matters:)
TIANA: ‘Bad Behaviour’ also marked a bit of a shift in terms of your sound, still retaining the Broncho punchiness, but with touch more of some chirpy pop moments sprinkled throughout . Did the overall process differ much this time round given it’s your fourth studio album? Or was it just a well-oiled machine in motion yet again?
RYAN: It was much like all of our records. We just turned down the reverb on this one, and turned up the tempo.
SANDMAN/BOYS GOT TO GO (BRONCHO)
TIANA: Broncho have such a unique and dreamy sound, and it’s one you’ve all been crafting for nearly a decade now since you formed. But what was the mission statement actually going into the band back in those early days, did you all know exactly what type of band you wanted to be stylistically back then?
RYAN: It's record to record. When it’s time for a new record we can make new decisions on what we want to be. I like the songs to guide us towards the place they’re supposed to be rather than coming up with a plan.
TIANA: And what sort of music did you actually grow up listening to? What specific bands/artists/albums etc. spurred you into pursuing a career in music?
RYAN: Weezer's Blue album came out when I was in junior high. Although I listened to a lot of different things over my life and am inspired and influenced by so many things, that record might have the biggest influence on the songs we write currently in this band.
TIANA: So since you’re about to jump on tour around Australia, I feel like I should ask: what is your must-have, essential item to take with you when you’re on the road to keep you sane? (And have you packed it, because the flight back home ain’t quick if you forget it…!)
RYAN: Sleeping mask and yes it is almost always packed, hopefully!
TIANA: To nearly wrap things up: in honour of your recent album ‘Bad Behaviour’ – what is the ultimate type of bad behaviour guaranteed to get you riled up?
RYAN: Bad salsa!
TIANA: And finally, while the upcoming excitement is obviously this huge Aussie tour you’re about to embark upon…what else is on the horizon for Broncho for the rest of 2019?
RYAN: This fall we go to Europe, the UK and China. I can’t wait to go to China because I’ve never been there. I can’t wait to experience a culture so different from the one I live in.
BRONCHO CONTINUE THEIR AUSTRALIAN DOMINATION ALONGSIDE METHYL ETHEL OVER THE WEEKEND IN BRISBANE. FOR TICKET INFO AND MORE, HEAD HERE. FOR ALL OTHER BRONCHO INFO, HEAD HERE.
BY TIANA SPETER