After finishing their supporting jaunt with Finger Eleven and Alien Ant Farm, Toronto modern rock band BRKN LOVE vocalist and guitarist Justin Benlolo took time out for an OOTB Interview.
Earlier this year, the four-members released its third LP The Program (Spinefarm) with singles “Cruel” and “Pulling Leeches,” which follows full-length albums Black Box in 2022 and their self-titled debut released five years ago.
In this interview, Benlolo discusses the new album, the recent tour, performing live, overcoming challenges and what’s next.
How was the tour with Finger Eleven and Alien Ant Farm! Any stories stand out?
It was great. We just wrapped up two days ago. Both of those bands were very good to us and very cordial.
It was nice to see our people coming to every show and singing all the words after we had been gone for a while. That was refreshing.
You can never be sure if people will stick with you nowadays with all the constant refreshing on their algorithms, so we were pleasantly surprised!
As far as stories go, it was pretty run of the mill, classic touring. Nothing stands out as peculiar or interesting, just a solid rock and roll tour.
Having two previous LPs and two EPs released, how did you approach The Program differently from your previous releases—as far as both lyrically and musically?
It had to be a bit more ambitious than before. A third record usually warrants a more distinct change.
I decided to tell stories and be more direct than write ambiguous word salads that just sounded cool.
Musically, we tried to throw in some more elements of classic RnB, Funk and Pop to shake some things up.
To me, it sounds like a slight departure (in a good way!), but to others it may just sound like another BRKN LOVE record.
The intention was to push it a bit more though and I still believe we achieved just that.
What’s your favorite track on the album and why that song?
I love “Unholy.”
It’s really something we had never done before and a song that would never have been made on prior records. I think I would’ve vetoed that one in the past.
My parameters were a lot more limited before. The idea of creating a Backstreet Boys meets Black Sabbath song would’ve completely shut off a much younger Justin.
At this point, it’s become my new favourite thing to do. I couldn’t care less about what we are “supposed” to sound like anymore.
I love bubblegum pop and I also love heavy metal. Why not just make the music that I love?
I also think the lyrics are great.
It’s a very dark and sexy song. I had never really dove into the world of “sexy” lyrics before this album, as it made me a little uncomfortable before.
But again, it’s become one of my new favourite things.
What’s your favorite song to perform live in front of an audience and why that song?
It still has to be “Shot Down.” It’s such a banger. From start to finish, it just crushes.
We don’t have many songs that stay up the entire time. I try to shy away from singing everything at the top of my range so I can have some breaks throughout the set, but this one just rips.
What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a band and how have you overcome that?
The biggest challenge is still finding a way to breakthrough in this ever changing business.
We became a band right before the tiktok/reels boom and have seen the industry change at a rapid pace.
We are still trying to navigate how to move up in a world that doesn’t seem to embrace or value rock musicians anymore.
The mediums have all changed right before our eyes.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the social media management while also trying to balance the huge costs of touring in today’s market.
But, we are persisting. We don’t have any plans to stop moving forward.
Every band/musician is feeling this pressure. It’s those who keep at it that succeed.
Looking ahead, what can fans expect from the band going into 2026?
More shows. Maybe some new music. Who knows!
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Thank you for tuning in! Thank you for supporting us if you are an old fan and thank you for checking us out if you are a new one!
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https://spinefarm.merchnow.com/
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https://instagram.com/brknlovemusic
https://m.facebook.com/@BRKNLOVEMUSIC/
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