IMPRINT Review | Don Bronco “Half Man, Half God”
Written by | Joshua Habtwold
London-based band Don Broco recently released the official lyric video for their song “Half Man Half God”. Being recognized for their creative videos, they have been known with their fan favorite, “Pretty”, which is sort of like the wedding scene in The Graduate meets Face/Off. “Half Man, Half God” is the first new music to be released after their critically acclaimed Top 5 album Technology, which came out almost a year ago to the day. For the video, the song is basically an official lyric video of the song, with an orange wall palette with dark green letters stating “Half Man, Half God.”
In terms of the song, it heavily experiments with a variety of sounds and instrumentations, that make it seem vivid and more radiant, such as the vocals and presentation. The chorus brings a variety of sounds, ranging from garage to hard rock type instrumentation. The lead vocalist also brings a unique vocal range, which sounds similar to the likes of Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke at the last lines of the chorus. In terms of production style, the beginning of the song brings many similarities within its vibe, which kind of sounds like Beyonce’s 2011 release Run the World (Girls), with the drum pattern and production, since it follows a multiple beat pattern.
In terms of the message, the song talks about the feeling of wanting the love and admiration of being with their idols, such as a god or a significant other. It also details that the lead singers want a feeling of reality, and wanting the expression of being loved instead of being used as a commodity, such as describing a wishlist, not wanting a relationship to be too fictional, and not being blamed for any wrongdoings. Towards the climax of the song, it brings a variety of production between the auto-tune in the pre-chorus to the 200s rock sound within the pre-bridge. The end of the song brings a narrowing edge, in which it spirals with a triple beat pattern and darker guitar sounds, which make the song much more interesting.
For our final thoughts, it is a very unique song with a lot of vivid experimentation. It is definitely something that can be incorporated with a variety of sounds and production from today’s indie and experimental rock. With finishing their tours with Mike Shinoda and 30 Seconds To Mars, and have had separate arena tours in the past with 5 Seconds of Summer and Bring Me The Horizon, they are going to return to the States for a tour with Dance Gavin Dance on March 30th.