Don Broco – ‘Nightmare Tripping’

Don Broco are now on the Dark Side. Gone is the whimsy that punctuated their earlier albums. They’ve kept the electronic hints, of course, but taken their sound in a distinctly heavier direction on their latest offering, ‘Nightmare Tripping’. It’s hard to believe that ’T-Shirt Song’ was only a couple of albums prior, but a lot has happened since its release in 2018. While we never disapprove of a heavy take from a band, a lot of the fun of Don Broco has been dampened in favour of deeper, darker lyrics and, as a result, their latest incarnation sounds a whole lot like, well, every other band occupying a similar position on festival lineups. Of course, when ‘Nightmare Tripping’ drops live on their upcoming tour, the newest tracks will undoubtedly slot in perfectly as part of a greater whole, but on record, they’re conjuring an altogether more sombre experience. 

Their new direction is clear from the very start. From the second ‘Cellophane’ glitches into life, we’re swept into a struggle for survival. It’s tremendous and claustrophobic, a song for those longing to unplug. Their electronica has taken on the role of harbinger on ‘Hype Man’, their most Shikari-like track, which is destined to become a fan favourite when the bridge crashes into the euphoric crystals of the chorus, and ushers in a taut race into the unknown on ‘Disappear’. Sampling bagpipes is a bold move, but it just adds to the whole deep cave pool atmosphere they’re evoking. Calling in the services of Nickelback to add a bucketload of riffs takes the title track in an equally unexpected turn, with the whole song switching incredibly rapidly between rhythms and genres…but it works. Whatever spirits Don Broco are contacting via this seance of a song, they must be controlling an ambitious, interesting direction. 

It’s not all totally darkness though. ‘Euphoria’ feels the most characteristically Don Broco song here here, and it’s no great stretch to imagine vocalist Rob Damiani cavorting onstage to its robotic bridges and clashing riffs. The standout track by a mile is the collab with Architects frontman Sam Carter – ‘True Believers’ – which absolutely shines with excitement and atmospheric promise. A distinct maturity haunts each late night chord to make for a gorgeous song, and one which feels like it should have been the cornerstone for a whole different album; one which took a more thoughtful turn away from the darkness and into the light. That said, the chunky guitars that lead ‘Swimming Pools’ into the familiar shallows of the Broco sound is exactly what we need as an antidote to the fear that Don Broco have gone off the deep end, and serves as a reassurance that they haven’t completely abandoned their roots. 

It feels like a tradition now to end any album in 2026 with a slow number, and Don Broco finish with the moody, atmospheric ‘The Corner’, a song that feels like a book being gently closed after a satisfying read. This begs the question: what’s the next chapter for Don Broco? They’ve established that they want to make deeper songs that stretch into more personal territory, with a goal to take on the tougher bands in their sphere of influence. Can we expect an even darker record next year? Whatever the answer, there’s no return to their old antics after the ambitions displayed in ‘Nightmare Tripping’.

Kate Allvey