Influenced by indie, emo, and alternative, similar to Foxing, Pianos Become The Teeth, and Vheissu-era Thrice, Distractions is brocoy‘s second full length experimental punk record and the single of the same name we’re premiering today is a great display of his organic craft. The full album comes out on August 19th and today we’re stoked to give you the first hearing of “Distractions” below!
After a decade of playing in bands, brocoy made his solo debut with a pair of emo-tinged punk records – the old bones // broken skin EP in 2017, and the 2019 mini-album Wild Blue. Now on his third solo effort, the multi-instrumentalist aims to redefine his artistry by approaching his music from a completely different perspective.
“After Wild Blue, I started feeling unfulfilled by my musical output,” says brocoy. “My discography didn’t reflect the diversity of my influences. I wanted to make a record that didn’t sound like ‘guitar music’, without abandoning the sounds that have made me the artist I am today.”
The result is Distractions, a record where brocoy wrestles with his frustrations in finding his place in the world. As he rides a fiery piano through sounds borrowed from punk, hardcore, electronic, indie, art rock, trip-hop, and soul, he wonders if there’s more out there for him and whether he’ll ever be able to reach it.
“Making this album was about more than just finding musical fulfillment. I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on the value of life and what we give weight to in this world. I often feel like I don’t belong here because I think a lot of the things we do and consume are just temporary distractions. And it can be alienating to feel so out of place, but it’s even more liberating to not have to live within someone else’s expectations.”
Distractions will be released on August 19 via Broke Guy Music.
Longtime collaborators Adam Furukawa (Terry Green, Piper Maru), Alquinn Alquinto (ALQUINN), and Joe Angilletta (New Design) contributed performances to the record. Hellbent drummer and seasoned punk/hardcore producer Nick Ginn (School House Studios) handled engineering and producing duties alongside brocoy.
