Broadheart is the brainchild of David Shanle (Squint/Still – Sunday Drive Records and Like Heaven – WAR Records) and Bradley Jokerst (The Disappeared), both hailing from the thriving and diverse St. Louis, Missouri, music scene. What began in early 2023 as fully fleshed-out, but vocal-less Shanle demos, combined with Jokerst’s vocals and melodies, ended as 12 songs reminiscent of late ’90s/early ’00s era emo/melodic hardcore.
Jokerst says, “When Dave [Shanle] said he had some songs that he thought I might sound good singing over, I never in a million years thought we would end up with a full LP, let alone something that ended up being so fulfilling, creatively speaking. Sometimes things are just meant to be. From the second I started singing to his riffs, it just felt perfect. I feel more attached to these songs than just about anything I’ve ever written.”
Gabe Usery, the producer/engineer responsible for Squint’s Feel It All Wash Away and Still’s Faint and Disarray, was once again recruited to handle production and play drums with additional guitars and bass tracked by members of St. Louis locals Petty Grievances and Portraits & Landscapes. What results is a band that combines the best parts of the late ’90s/early ’00s emo boom and modern post-hardcore.
“Seedy,” the first single off of Broadheart’s debut album What Enormous Things Have Happened, swings between clean, arpeggiated verses and powerful wall of sound choruses. It’s as if early Jimmy Eat World and Seaweed had a 21st century love child. “1000X” and “Regret” combine thick guitars, borderline pop vibes and a vocal delivery that delivers both a raspy urgency and a crooning love song quality. Songs that would fit right on a bill with Fiddlehead, Basement, or Koyo.
Deep, introspective lyrics ask the question “what happens if everything we love is suddenly taken away?” Broadheart has crafted a record that is equal parts melody and angst. And begs to be sung along to.
Catch the band live here:
November 13th at Moshmellow, St. Louis (Record Release Party) w/ Future Nots and Odd Spaces
Photo courtesy of the band. Philadelphia jangle-pop band Riverside will release Taste, the long-shelved follow-up…
Photo by Lewis Hayward Abstract Concrete (UK) return with their brand-new single, “You Will Be Happy,” alongside…
Photo by Ethan Luck Returning after almost six years of silence, In Parallel is back…
Punk and post-hardcore veterans The Blamed will release a new split 7-inch with Portland, Oregon’s…
Photo courtesy of the band. Hey!Fever Records has signed Reno punk quartet Donkey Jaw, with…
Photo by Anna Bell Dayton, Ohio's Shelter & Sound releases its third single, "To The…