Neil Brogan’s new album sounds a lot like its 2024 predecessor Neil Brogan Band. Even the title feels like a sequel with a typo. Neil Brogan Band? Near Broken Band? Potatoes!

We’ve been fans of Brogan since his Sea Pinks and Girls Names days, and under his own name he continues to write jangly, breezy guitar-pop songs wrapped around that warm, instantly recognizable voice and the gentle punch of his drumming. The impressive thing is how effortlessly he reaches a level of melodic satisfaction that many songwriters spend entire careers chasing. You almost start taking it for granted.

Which is why it’s such a pleasure when Near Broken Band forces you to stop and appreciate the craftsmanship hiding inside all that easygoing charm. The opening stretch is sequenced beautifully, moving from the almost twee-punk bounce of Joys of Spring and Fast & Loose into the standout Sooner (Rather than Later). Built around a deceptively simple guitar riff, it’s the kind of song that tricks your brain into believing you’ve known it for years, only to make you hit repeat anyway.

Then Brogan follows it with Egg On Yr Face, a wonderfully playful tune with a chorus that’s hard not to grin at. By the time the album reaches its midpoint, Neil Brogan has done what Neil Brogan albums tend to do: quietly, unassumingly, and completely won you over. Again.

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