Broods continue their ascent at Latitude 2014

The Alcove isn’t your standard festival stage. A marquee hidden inside the tree line, dirty grey carpet covers the floor. Towards the back a blackboard advertises Future Island Iced Teas and Pussy Riot cocktails. A t-rex balloon floats above the crowd, an old caravan adorned with glitter ball to the side of the stage.

This isn’t the place you’d normally expect to see the next big thing, and yet it’s here that New Zealand’s next great hope Broods make their Latitude bow. While it may not be what the rising stars to be are used to, they take to it perfectly.

With the swooping, grand sweep of their path clearing predecessor Lorde, it’s easy to see why. And while that comparison is valid, there’s much more to Broods than that alone. In just their second ever festival performance they inspire awkward dance moves within a couple of tracks; confident swagger by the end of the third.

This isn’t a home crowd either. From a child no more than a few months old in ear protectors to veterans with flowers in their hair - it’s doubtful this is what Broods are used to playing to. As numbers swell so the momentum grows. By the end it’s yelps and cheers for latest track ‘Mother & Father’. Whatever the setting, Broods are destined for the top.

Photos: Sarah Louise Bennett.