Broncos. Formed in Belfast as various other projects dissolved or never properly formed for Michael (drums) and Cameron (guitar/backing vocals), it wasn’t until Shane (vocals/bass) joined that Broncos finally took it’s shape. They heralded their arrival onto the scene with ‘Erode’, their anthemic post-hardcore debut single in September 2024. Follow up ‘Lights Out’ was release in January 2025, recalling the reckless intensity of At The Drive-In.
Now, almost a year to the day from their debut, they return with their third single ‘Lover’. Their most focused and visceral work to date. ‘Lover’ is a ravaging 2 minutes 45 seconds that balances post-hardcore screams from Cameron and Michael, Shane’s more angelic soaring vocals, pummelling rhythms and a neck snapping stadium moving chorus. It’s a more complex sound than previous, fully exploring the post-hardcore spectrum and incorporating subtle synths to help add depth and dimension to their sound. Lyrically ‘Lover’ addresses the push pull duality in a relationship, the ambiguity that can surround a situationship juxtaposed against the desire for something deeper and more meaning, while protecting yourself in the face of potential/inevitable heart break Staying true to the DIY ethos at the heart of the band, ‘Lover’ was recorded in the band’s practice space with Shane at the controls. Mastering was completed by long time collaborator Dan Coutant (Drug Church, Coliseum).
Catch the band live here:
Oct 17th Dublin, Fibber Magees (downstairs)
Oct 18th Belfast, Ulster Sports Club
Nov 21st Belfast, Deers Head
MICHAEL:
At The Drive-In - Cosmonaut
I saw a live video for this song somewhere and was totally blown away. At The Drive-In are everything a band should be to me, their live shows were visceral explosions, an unbridled release of pure energy. They played like they hated their instruments. A whirling dervish from the outset, everything felt vital and important. Tony Hajjar instantly became a massive influence on drums for me, he has a really signature style that really compliments Omar and Jim’s more angular playing. When I started playing guitar they were very influential in terms of sound and song writing and that’s something I’ve carried through to Broncos both on drums or if I’m writing for us. When Relationship broke they were being heralded as ‘the next Nirvana’ and for once that didn’t feel like hyperbole. It’s a shame that things went all VH1 behind the music, but at least we were given Sparta and Mars Volta, again both massively influential on me in terms of song writing and drumming. I could genuinely write an essay about those three bands.
Pretty Girls Make Graves - Speakers Push Air
It sounds kinda hokey but this song came into my life at the exact right time. My bass player made me a tape that was full of all this American underground punk rock stuff, which I already loved but had moved away from. At the time I’d be listening to a lot of stoner rock and making a lot of bad decisions, I was really sick of it all and bored with that whole thing. It had all got very stale and every band felt cookie cutter copies of each other. So I hit play on the tape and it opened with Speakers Push Air. That little synth line that opens the song gives way to some pretty picky guitars and then it’s on. It’s only two and a half minutes, but over that run time, just like the sentiment expressed in the song, it reminded me why music was so great, why it changed my life and why it was so important to me. It sounded so fresh, the two guitars playing off each other, angular but melodic, a far cry from the droning bluesy rock riffs of what I’d be listening to, while drums hammered away driving things forward. This band mean the world to me, I got them tattooed on me. Even to this day, when all the other things that surround being a band, stress of booking shows, doing PR, managing social media..all the shit, start to feel like they’re detracting from why we all do this in the first place. I still go back to this song and Pretty Girls remind me ‘Do you remember when you could not put it away, do you remember what the music meant’ and nothing else matters when I turn it up loud.
Bullet Train to Vegas - Drive Like Jehu
This was another band that came off that tape. Akin to At The Drive-In, Drive Like Jehu just feel explosive and visceral, like a car you can barely keep on the road, skidding around the asphalt, squealing rubber, bouncing up on two wheels and somehow landing completely unscathed. I knew John Reis from Rocket From The Crypt but this is a whole other snarling beast. The way he plays guitar in this band left an indelible mark on me as I started to venture into playing guitar, noisy, abrasive and full of attack, it wasn’t trying to be pretty but there was still melody, it wasn’t trying to be heavy but there was an inherent heaviness to it. Mark Trombinos drums are insane, I love his approach to his kick drum patterns, he does little skippy thing I use/borrow/have stolen and use it all the time. Oddly, not dissimilar to Tony in At The Drive-In again. Obviously these bands all feed at the trough of Fugazi, Rites of Spring etc and I’ll take a bite of that sandwich any day. This lead me to Hot Snakes, Pitchfork and a whole host of other bands that were doing because they loved it and because they had to. I should mention that the ethics and DIY approach behind all this music were and still are so important to me, this music was transformative for me and set me on the path I’m still on today. The DIY approach, making your art, getting on stage, getting in the van and contributing to your scene, putting on shows, giving people a platform, helping bands with PR/art..whatever, that all means the world to me.
To Our Friends In The Great White North - Botch
It’s fucking Botch.
CAMERON :
Boiled Frogs - Alexisonfire
Alexisonfire have been one of my top bands for over a decade now and have always been a heavy influence in the direction I wanted to go with the band. You can imagine my delight when Shane came on board and Broncos took shape, that he was also a big fan, allowing us to pressure Michael into coming to the most recent live show in Belfast as a mandatory band outing. What has always drawn me to them has been the vocal dynamics, the screams and cleans, the chaotic and melodic. I’ve seen countless bands do this but no one does it quite like Alexis, seamlessly going between hardcore verses into sing along stadium choruses just hits every chord I’m looking for.
AFI - Dancing Through Sunday
Another band that has been with me since I was an angsty teenager has been AFI. Particularly this era of the band with the sharp, stabbing punk guitar work, thick slapping bass soup and again, the vocal work takes you from a gritty verse into a beautiful chorus. I’ve always loved a band that can make drums, bass and a single guitar sound huge live, an aspiration for all of us at Broncos to push the wall of sound at shows.
Glass Built Castles - Black Peaks
I came across these guys by complete accident in a playlist one day and was blown away by what I heard, thankfully getting to see them twice before they disbanded. The guitar work was phenomenal and I bought their guitar manuscript and immediately tried to work my way through it (I struggled A LOT). I’ve always been a sucker for a pulled back, floaty clean verse that just makes the chorus hit you like a tonne of bricks. The vocal range this album features is incredible, further reenforcing my love of a bit of scream/clean mixture.
SHANE:
River Below - Billy Talent
When I think of influences - what I’m listening to recently is always at the front of my mind, however, this band and this track is probably as far back as it goes in terms of what influences me. My buddy at school lent me Billy Talent 1 & 2 on cd. The band literally changed my life. It changed how I play guitar, it made me start playing bass, they even changed how I listened to songs and think about music - the interplay of the guitar and bass working together with the drums. I was completely obsessed. River Below sums up what I love - tight choppy extended chords, chunky riffy leads, heavy and melodic call and response vocals. It’s heavy, it grooves, you can singalong, what more do you want?
Hyperreal - My Ticket Home
Found this band by accident a few years ago, they were fully ‘running on the spot’ metalcore when I did but ended up moving well away from that into this sort of dirty post grunge thing (which I adore). Again, it grooves, it’s melodic but keeps a heaviness there. It sounds and feels raw. Real guitars, real drums (hyperreal obviously), it just feels like you’re standing in the room with them but it’s polished enough that it’s still a pro quality record. Short and sweet too, all the fat has been trimmed off which I think is a bit of a lost art in itself these days. Seriously underrated band.
Clean - Static Dress
Super 2004/05 post hardcore vibe here, with a modern twist. Super choppy chords, driving drums, chaos vocals going back and forth with a big singalong chorus (a pattern is emerging here). One of my favourite bands of the last year. Once more it’s like being in the room with them while they play - I’m moving much closer to wanting songs (ours or other) to feel and sound real. It makes no sense to me if we don’t sound like we do on record, so thanks Static Dress for nudging me away from unbelievably digitised production, amp modellers and heinous snare sampling.