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Ōtepoti’s longstanding indie folk favourites The Broken Heartbreakers have emerged from the mists to announce their brand new album, as well as a full nationwide tour this September. Imagine If We Could Just Keep Driving marks the band’s fifth album and debut on Nadia Reid’s boutique Slow Time Records label, set to be unveiled on July 17th.FULL BAND ALBUM RELEASE TOUR - SEPTEMBER 2026
FRI 4 SEPT - GRAINSTORE GALLERY, OAMARU
SAT 5 SEPT - SPACE ACADEMY, CHRISTCHURCH
THURS 10 SEPT - WHAMMY, AUCKLAND
FRI 11 SEPT - ARTWORKS THEATRE, WAIHEKE
SAT 12 SEPT - VOGELMORN BOWLING CLUB, WELLINGTON
SAT 19 SEPT - HANOVER HALL, DUNEDIN
With the ballad of The Broken Heartbreakers harking back all the way to 2002, it’s clear that the band understand that the finer things in life take time. Their critically adored album How We Got To Now arrived over a decade ago in 2015, with a smattering of non-album singles and live appearances over the years keeping the band in the hearts and minds of their ever-loyal fanbase.
“Rachel and John are such gifted writers, observers, singers, and players,” says Slow Time Records founder Nadia Reid. “These songs are the stuff of life – life on life’s terms. They sound like Dunedin, and Ireland, like K’Road. I’m so grateful that this record is joining Slow Time’s stable of records.”
Music critic Graham Reid once described the band as having “a sound which draws equally on the Left Banke, the Everly Brothers, Brian Wilson, Beatles, alt-country harmonies and the Anglofolk tradition”. The Broken Heartbreakers’ music mixes the bleak with the beautiful, drawing on deep roots of folk and classic pop melody, but with a defiant, subversive twist and more than a touch of modern electricity.
Howell and Bailey’s new songs find them more defiant than ever, proudly redefining what a band known for having a wistful folky element can or should represent. Whilst The Broken Heartbreakers certainly enjoy plumbing “the broken hearted depths of personal despair and loss”, they also gleefully admit that their songs exist to take “well aimed barbs at the socioeconomic wasteland of the neoliberal era”.
To hear The Broken Heartbreakers on record is a special thing indeed, but to witness them live with a full band is a rare pleasure. This September, fans can hear these very special songs live in all their glory, with six shows spanning the motu. As well as the band’s core pair, the full touring band will feature drummer Paul McLennan-Kissel (who also performed powerfully and beautifully on the record), Ayumu Kobayashi on bass, and a mystery figure on keys and synths.
Don’t miss catching The Broken Heartbreakers on the Imagine If We Could Just Keep Driving album release tour; these magnificent stars may not align again for some time.
“beautiful, world-class music” - Victor Billot, Audioculture
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Event Venue
Hanover Hall, 65 Hanover, Dunedin, New Zealand
Tickets
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