The Broken Family Band

The Broken Family Band

The Broken Family Band is a British indie rock group from Cambridge, United Kingdom, also associated with London. Formed in 2001, it begins as the project of Steven Adams, Jay Williams, Micky Roman and Gavin Johnson after the break-up of Adams and Williams’ earlier indie rock band Hofman. The group’s line-up later includes Howard Monk and Timothy Victor alongside Adams, Johnson, Roman and Williams.

Style and background

The band’s music is described in a range of ways, including alt-country, country-rock, new wave and indie rock, with the band itself favouring the indie rock label. It develops out of several earlier indie groups and a post-rock band from Cambridge, and is part of the city’s early-2000s leftfield Americana scene.

Releases

The Broken Family Band’s first mini-album, The King Will Build A Disco, appears in 2002. Its first full-length album, Cold Water Songs, follows in 2003, alongside the mini-album Jesus Songs. In 2005 the band releases Welcome Home Loser, followed in 2006 by Balls. Hello Love appears in 2007 and is noted for the single Love Your Man, Love Your Woman. The band’s seventh album, Please and Thank You, is released in 2009 and is mixed by George Shilling.

Later years

Over time, the group becomes a stripped-back core of Adams, Gavin Johnson, Jay Williams and Micky Roman, after shedding various additional contributors including accordionists, female singers, banjo players and an American drawl. In 2009, the band announces that it is splitting up, and a final run of shows ends with a last performance in Cambridge.