The long and winding road of love and life with The Broken Heartbreakers

More than two decades later, a passing comment during a late night drive inspired the title, Imagine If We Could Just Keep Driving, now the new album from The Broken Heartbreakers.

It's about time, family, relationships and the value of staying the course. After a period focused on raising their daughter, the Dunedin outfit created an album of pure of heart, that speaks to our most sincere humanity.

We caught up with the band to discusses the stories behind the record, the influence of their southern home, and why they're still driving forward after all these years.

Your upcoming album has such a cool name. What inspired it?

Very early in the band’s existence, we were driving back to our then hometown of Auckland after an out of town show. It felt sad that it was all about to be over. As the city came into view from the north, Rachel said, “Imagine if we could just keep driving,” and it hung in the air. More than 20 years later, we’re still here, still driving, metaphorically anyway.

You've spent time away focusing on family. After so long, what inspired you to make this album?

It’s really a case of coming up for air. The desire to create has never gone away, though the band takes two parents away from our daughter, so it didn’t feel right for us to be doing much BHB activity during the early years of her life. We each had side projects during that time. We had a bit of a false start in 2021 when we released a single, though the tours we booked to support it were cancelled because of Covid. After that, we went into album recording mode, which brings us to now.

How has the period away from releasing music been reflected in the new songs?

You often only notice a common thread running through a group of songs after they’re written. That’s certainly the case with this album. Looking back, the themes are about staying the course over time and holding things together in life and in significant relationships. There’s nowhere to “get to” and simply being is enough. There have been plenty of songs written about the thrill of new love and the heartbreak of love lost, which makes sense because those are powerful experiences. There are far fewer about the disappointment and wonder of long term love.

Did you start out with a clear direction for how you wanted the album to sound, or did that materialise over time?

It materialised over time. Most of it was tracked in our little home studio. As the recording progressed, we decided to embrace technology that we had previously avoided, including virtual instruments, samples and more adventurous vocal processing. It was a joy.

The other big factor was mixing engineer Nick Roughan. We were fans of his work before we met him and we were lucky to have him on board. We’ve always mixed our own music in house, though Nick raised the bar considerably.

The songs on the album are powerful and gentle at the same time. Where do you draw from when you're writing?

Firstly, thank you. That’s a lovely perspective on the album. Powerful and gentle is our favourite kind of music.

We draw from a few different places, including our personal lives, which can be a tightrope of vulnerability. When we co-write, John usually provides the musical foundation and chords, then Rachel develops the melody and lyrics. Rachel listens to what the music is saying and responds instinctively.

“An Ocean In the Way” was originally called “Migration” and was inspired by a Substack article about bird migration. It was fascinating and carried strong parallels with human migration, along with any kind of journey from the known into the unknown.

In what way has the culture and vibe of Dunedin shaped who you are as people and musicians?

We’re deeply affected by the environment in and around Dunedin. The landscape, the harbour hills, the old architecture, the yearly renewal of young people, the city’s musical heritage and the incredibly rich local music scene all play a part.

The city is brimming with young talent and bands who are building their own world and creating a new Dunedin sound. Many people move back to Dunedin after spending years elsewhere, which means the city is rich in life experience. Few people move to Dunedin to “make it”, so there’s a different mindset here.

What do you want listeners to take away from the album?

Hopefully the same things it says to us. You’re not alone. We’re all navigating this increasingly strange life together, so despite the many forces that try to separate us, stay the course and stay connected. There is an abundance of love in the world and it’s all around us when you take the time to notice it.

That might sound a little grand coming from a small indie folk band at the bottom of the world, though you asked.

More than anything, we hope listeners feel like they’ve been on a journey. There are twists and turns, highs and lows. The important thing is to keep going. Keep travelling the road of life. There is always another corner and another unexpected view waiting ahead.