About

In 2017, Johnson siblings (Lauren, Taylor and Logan) began making music in their family home on Northern Ireland’s rugged north coast. Within a few years they went from playing their local pub in the sleepy village of Castlerock to playing festival stages all over the UK and Ireland. After meeting drummer Luke Harris and lead guitarist Aaron Milligan in a Portrush pub (then performing as their own two-piece band), then recruiting younger brother Logan as a fully-fledged member on bass, it seemed inevitable the five would unite, completing the Brand New Friend line-up almost by accident. Following the release of their debut album Seatbelts for Aeroplanes in 2018, they hit the road in support of Snow Patrol, Lewis Capaldi, Ash, Starcrawler, At The Drive In, RAT BOY and Feeder.

If their recent second album, Grandstand, is a record about the butterfly effect put in place before you were born, then it is also about the need to create your own. It’s about the good and bad coexisting and finding a way to continue when life has you know it has completely changed. Inspired by Pavement, The Thrills, Interpol and Mike Skinner, the indie pop record has achieved support from BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, Radio X and RTE 2fm.

“The group’s growth is evident, with the LP brimming with massive sounding guitars and pop hooks.” – Hot Press