Hailing from humble little Castlerock on the North Coast of Northern Ireland, Brand New Friend are an indie-pop four-piece who are destined to make it big. 2016 has been a busy year for the group who recently won the 2016 Chordblossom Kickstart competition and have just recorded their debut album, which is due for release later this year.

With bags of heart, tons of energy and some super catchy melodies, their debut single I Was An Astronaut is an absolute lo-fi dream. Siblings Taylor and Lauren Johnson share a harmony in their vocals that really suits this nostalgic, summer sun-drenched track, and honestly, I could listen to it all day.

Any band that cite both Neutral Milk Hotel and Modern Baseball as influences is always going to pique my interest and it’s the hints of the former that I really love about this band. Considering this is their first offering, I am beyond excited to see what their upcoming album brings.

To listen to more tracks and to keep up to date with Brand New Friend you can follow the band on Facebook, Soundcloud or Twitter.

Laura Caldwell

Author: Laura Caldwell

Hi, I'm Laura. I'm 30 years old and have a degree in Journalism with Photo-Imaging at the University of Ulster. I have an undying love for Belfast and all that it has to offer, an undying love for sleeping, Tegan and Sara, trashy tv shows, foreign snack-foods and being irresponsible with money. I also quite like origami, reading, jazz, hip-hop, dubstep, anything acoustic and Food Network TV. I've written for The Big List, Culture NI, Chatterbox and The Echo, as well as writing for BBC Across the Line.