Concert Review: Ben and Brody at Cassette 9, 7 August 2021

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Kiwi siblings Ben and Brody light up Cassette 9 with a younger audience than usual, their clean pop sound and youthful stage persona is refreshing and impressive, and I can see why they have been successful in competitions such as the Smokefree Rockquest.

Opening for Ben and Brody were The Dawns and Sandtrap, both quite young indie bands that mix well with the age bracket of the audience. I missed The Dawns and Sandtrap but heard from a friend in the audience that they finished earlier than predicted. So the band backing Ben and Brody played a few songs themselves under their own name Edamame Pouch. Ben Glanfield then took the stage without Brody Glanfield to play some Boarderlines songs and they filled up the space nicely until Brody joined them to begin their headlining set. For two bands that weren’t on the bill they did a pretty good job of just getting into it.

Brody’s voice envelopes the crowd with a sweet, clean sound. The twang of country in her tone cuts through the noise and sits above the band nicely.

A talented bunch for kids still in high school The drummer is well in time and not shy to show off what he can do. The bass is loud and the bassist’s curly hair is bopping with the groove. I can’t see the second guitarist’s eyes because of his cap, but I think he’s having a good time. Ben, who is playing guitar, and the lead guitarist often seem to be playing the same thing. I would be eager to hear some guitar licks and riffs in future to really elevate their performance.

Ben and Brody

Together they have a very lovely stage presence, confident and closely interactive. Their sound is very pop, very catchy and very well structured. Well balanced for a duo with a band. Brody couldn’t help but exclaim how much fun they were having and that they “hope we like it.”

Both have great voices and they blend nicely together. I’m sure they trust each-other well, being siblings and band members, and it shows.

Their set was well varied with a wide variety of genres. Monster was a reggae infused tune. Cry Baby had a samba kind of rhythm and Fire Called love was filled with folky undertones, quite reminiscent of a Lumineers like sound.

Mixed in among the originals, they did a cover of Feeling Good by Nina Simone as a mash up with No Diggity by Blackstreat and Thrift Shop by Macklemore. It sounds familiar to a mashup that Ed Sheeran and Passenger did back in 2013.

Dad yells from the crowd “Go Brody!” As they launch into On My Conscience, a song they said recently got funding and should be released soon.

They Close with Open Up, a song they got funding to record professionally alongside a music video which you can check out on YouTube. With short pre choruses and catchy choruses this is a duo I will be keeping my eye on and I wouldn’t be surprised to see growth and recognition within the scene in the next few years.

– Jemilah Ross-Hayes

Set list

Jealousy
Emotions
Mosters
Feeling good/no diggity/thrift shop- cover
Cry baby
Fire Called Love
On my conscience
Divine
Best Friends- Cover
Open Up

Jemilah Ross-Hayes
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