Tell us about the new single!

Karolane Carbonneau: “Well, we recorded with a producer called John Agnello. He’s been around for a while. He’s done music for Sonic Youth. “Doomtown” was the first song we did with him. Just a test to see how we worked together. It turned out so nice. We don’t know yet if it will be released on our new album. We’re looking for a label right now.”

In Doomtown, you can hear a sense of malaise pushing through the upbeat arrangement. Is that the sound and mood you’re pursuing on your new album?

KC: “Doomtown is a good direction. All the music we’ve made before was upbeat and funny. And we definitely want to keep that in our sound. It’s really fun to do live and people enjoy it. But it’s also a break-up album. Two members quit the band last year. And the album talks about our personal lives much more than the other music we released. Hopefully, it’s still funny though (laughs).”

KM: “You can’t help but be shaped by what’s happening to you. In the last few years, we’ve gone through so much personally and professionally. It would be a disservice to not reflect that in the music. We want to stay authentic to ourselves.”

Tell us about Chris Grant, the artist who made the music video with you.

KM: “He’s amazing! My husband worked with him a few years ago on a music video. When we were talking about putting together an animated video, Karo wanted to channel Sonic Youth, and I wanted to project sort of Black Flag drawings. We found him online, he’s a viral TikTok artist, we thought he would be too big to work with us. But he was super down with the project. In the process of creating the video, he opened up about his struggles with mental health, and we talked to him about what we were going through. It was a nice intersection of creativity and overcoming adversity. We’re very grateful!”

How fucking cool was it to hear Iggy Pop play your song on his radio show?

KM: “Unreal!”

KC: “When it happened, my dad called me and said ‘I have something really important to tell you! Iggy Pop is talking about you on the radio.’ It was really nice knowing that a big star was acknowledging our art.”

It’s nice to see punk blossoming in Quebec again. I think most people associate the genre with big Anglo cities, like Toronto and Vancouver.

KC: “In Montreal, there are two scenes. And being in an Anglophone band is obviously more difficult. People will listen to you only if you make it elsewhere. But if you’re a Francophone band, it’s the opposite — you can have a life in Quebec and that’s it. The reverse is harder to achieve. We’ve been very lucky with NOBRO. It’s been great. But I do feel that people in Toronto and the rest of Canada know us more than in Quebec.”

You’ve had to revise your line-up for this tour. Did you audition musicians or go to the scene people you already knew?

KC: “A blend of these. Andy, our drummer, and Joseé have played replacement gigs with us before, so we knew they fit. And Tara is the youngest, she had to do an audition.”

KM: “She took it very seriously! Here’s the thing! We all have high standards, but Karo is an exceptional musician with an exceptional ear [Karolane blushes and smiles]. So I told Tara that Karo won’t settle for anything less than perfect. So Tara went out and got a keyboard, zeroed in on the perfect sound, studied our past percussion. She really put in the effort.”

What’s next for NOBRO?

KM: “We have four more dates in Canada. We’re playing Lee’s Palace in Toronto on Dec 4th. I do believe it’s sold out! And then we’re heading down South Dec 11th through 20th, opening up for the Front Bottoms. And then February 13th to March 15th, we’re on tour with the Descendants and Frank Turner. Very exciting! And we’re NOT playing the show in Orlando because Disney owns the venue (laughs).”

KC: “A lot of shows are coming! And a new album once we find a label.”

Catch NOBRO on tour