FEATURE: Spotlight: needanamebro — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

needanamebro

_________

THERE is not a lot out there…

in the way of interviews or personal insight into needanamebro. Maybe they want to project an air of intrigue or let the music do the talking first. Regardless, there is a lot of excitement around this London trio. I am not sure if they are changing their name to something else. I think needanamebro is intriguing! Maybe that slight anonymity and non-specific nature means that there is curiosity about who they are. Everyone tries to label and name everything. Having a slightly unknown quantity from Yssy, Amelia and Maddie is what more artists should be doing. With a huge following across TikTok, Instagram and Twitter, the trio have this intimacy that bring you into their rehearsal, studio and process. It is a connection with the fans that actually might be more powerful and meaningful than interviews. We get to see so many sides to the trio, without the media controlling the narrative and misquoting them. I am going to talk more about girl groups and why that term might need dispensing with or reframing. First, here is a little bit of an introduction to a mighty musical force:

“Maddie, Yssy and Amelia – Britain’s next great girl group – have held weekly meetings since the Londoners became roommates last November. The agenda? Choosing a name to replace the too-literal (but still brilliant) placeholder: needanamebro. Their debut single Better Love only came out in spring, but they’ve already got 250,000 fans on TikTok. “Everyone suggests, like, Destiny’s Sisters,” grins Maddie, 19. “Or The Magic Trio,” says Yssy, 19. Amelia, 20, stifles a giggle: “But we appreciate the love!” There’ll be many more meetings ahead, then. In fact, Maddie calls an emergency conference mid-interview to decide on the perfect answer to our would-you-rather: go on tour with Beyoncé, win a Grammy or bag Christmas Number One? “Christmas Number One!” announces Maddie. “Because that will get us a Grammy, and Beyoncé will love the song so much that she’ll play it every Christmas.” If only they could decide on a name that quickly. OP”.

With any group that comes through and stands out right away, there is that temptation to ask when the debut album is coming out. Even though needanamebro have made no announcement and they are probably keen to put out singles and get some gigs behind them, there is always that wondering. I think that there has been a lot of focus recently on girl groups. I always felt that terms was a bit sexist or defined. I am not sure whether artists today want to use that term, but I guess needanamebro – with its members born in the '00s -, are reigniting a phenomenon that was very much alive and well in the 1990s. Having suffered a dip with groups like Fifth Harmony and Little Mix stepping back/on hiatus, a new breed have emerged. With FLO perhaps leading the charge, it does seem that British girl groups are defining the new sound. Maybe not as soulful, edgy and addictive as Destiny’s Child or with those indelible songs the likes of All Saints, Spice Girls, and TLC dropped in the '90s, there is a nice blend of the nostalgic and modern in girls groups’ sound. I like needanamebro, as they do have edge and that street-level vibe. They also have a compelling fresh sound that is not afraid to splice and mix in some classic sounds. Maybe speaking to those of us who grew up in the'90s and'00s, this cross-generational splicing is yielding gold. Maybe it will be hard to get the same legacy and reputation as the classic girl groups. We are in a time where there are so many artists. Other genres and sounds are taking over. That said, as many have noted, needanamebro have the ammunition and tunes to go very far. I think that they could well herald the arrival or many other girl groups.

@needanamebro singing this song is breakup therapy... #newmusic #songofthesummer ♬ Netflix (Better Now Without You)

The Guardian wrote a feature back in March about the London trio whose R&B and '90s hothousing/'00s-style ‘journey’ and modern-day social media intimacy was standing them out from the pack. I do think that, when they release an album, it will be met with plenty of acclaim. It is clear that they have a passion for the music and want to go as far as possible:

“Last week, two brand new UK girl bands spent some time with their respective fanbases. For Flo – the Brit-award-winning, BBC Sound of poll-topping, magazine-covering new hope – the fans were in Paris, waiting outside a star-studded Loewe fashion show in the hope of grabbing a selfie. In London, meanwhile, an R&B girl band so new that they have almost no music or even a name held a gathering at a branch of ice-cream parlour Creams to celebrate a year since completing their lineup. Billed on their social media accounts as “needanamebro”, teenagers Yssy, Amelia and Maddie have quickly gathered momentum, reaching nearly 250,000 followers and 11m likes on TikTok. Their path has been an intriguing, era-straddling mix of classic 90s girl band hothousing, letting fans share in a 2000s X Factor-style “journey” and a hefty dose of modern-day social media intimacy and world-building.

While the nascent girl band’s event had the feel of a typically ad hoc, ironic teenage hangout at a brightly lit sweet emporium, it was underscored by major label efficiency: they’re signed to Atlantic and managed by pop band star-maker Modest, former incubator of Little Mix and One Direction – both parties clearly keenly aware of the potential for a new girl group to fill a Little Mix-shaped hole in pop. A special needanamebro menu was created as a keepsake featuring different ice-cream specials for each member (Amelia’s teeth-rotting Amazing Kinder Bueno Waffle With Bueno Gelato, for example). Over the course of a sugar-rich 90 minutes, the London-based band hung out with a portion of their fanbase like best mates, immersing them in a world that’s still being constructed: their Soundcloud page has one song – a gorgeous, harmony-drenched cover of Drake’s Massive – while a playlist of favourite tracks (and obvious stylistic signposts) features the Sugababes, SZA and 90s US R&B trio Brownstone.

It’s a novel way to launch a new band. In the 90s, pop bands often spent a year or so in development behind closed doors, honing their skills while their managers and labels worked out where they fitted in the pop cosmos. By the time TV talent shows arrived at the turn of the millennium this process was truncated to 10 or so weeks on primetime television, with the public given a selective peek at pop’s machinations. Now, with talent shows more concerned with celebrities on ice, or singing while dressed as rhinos, carefully curated social media feeds do the job of showing how the sausage is made – and, more importantly, foster a relationship between fans and the band members.

Flo have been fairly open about the fact they were auditioned, and needanamebro have taken their followers on the journey from Yssy and Amelia being a duo to apparently meeting Maddie for the first time a year ago at Creams (hence the meet-up). (Atlantic confirmed that it signed the duo after finding them online, and then the girls met Maddie through social media.) Rather than hide their history, there are even tote bags in circulation featuring the band as just the original duo, which is both catnip for pop collectors and perhaps a suggestion that becoming a trio wasn’t always on the cards. But today, authenticity isn’t about how you met. Instead, it’s about that all-important chemistry – something that can be honed and shared via Instagram stories and playful TikToks.

needadamebro’s social media feeds are littered with sweaty rehearsal footage, impromptu outdoor dance routines to Beyoncé, and breezy a cappella performances while sitting on the floor. Their styling is casual, their tastes more Mahalia deep cuts than Pussycat Dolls bangers. The mood is dressed down and intimate – the antithesis of constructed and controlled, even if the wheels are furiously turning behind the scenes. At this super early stage, each post, each non-obvious song cover choice, each glimpse into the studio, is a puzzle piece for fans to use to work out who this band are and, ultimately, who they could be.

Perhaps needanamebro’s biggest trump card, however, is that name. Or lack thereof. It’s not unusual for a band to be put together without a name initially, or for that name to change: the Spice Girls were Touch, and then Spice; the Sugababes were the Sugababies, and even the X Factor-controlled launch of Little Mix started with a blip as they switched from being Rhythmix. But here it works as both an inbuilt gimmick (surely there’s a name!), a guarantee of investment and their calling card. Nearly all of needanamebro’s posts feature fans asking a variation of the same thing – “when are you deciding on a name?!” – to which the reply is always “soon”. If it hasn’t already been decided in secret, there’s the possibility that an early fan might supply the winning choice.

The hope, seemingly, is that in years to come fans will be able to say “I was a fan before they even had a name!” Shortly followed by: “I needed five fillings after that meet-up at Creams”.

I am going to wrap up in a second. As I say, there is not a tone of information about the trio online. I would love to feature or interview them at some point. With tracks like Better Love and Not a Lot Left to Say, they are announcing themselves as girl group queens ready to join FLO at the front of this resurgence and renaissance! I want to drop in a review for their debut single, Better Love. It is one that highlights that they are fully-formed and very promising proposition that everyone needs to check out:

“needanamebro are introducing themselves to the world with their debut single “Better Love” and cementing themselves as your next favourite girl group. There’s not a lot of information to be found about this British three-piece, but the intriguing mystery surrounding them is half the fun. They’ve built up a strong fanbase on social media by just posting covers and demo snippets, but now they’re sharing the official first taste of who they are as musicians.

Sonically reminiscent of early Sugababes, “Better Love” is a melodic RNB track with its entire soul embedded in the rich harmonies. With strings interpolated with light RNB percussion, there is a soothing energy that shines through. It’s intentionally slow burning, and as it glides through the chorus, the melody will continue to circle in your head.

The ultimate girl-group empowerment anthem, “Better Love” is all about being there for each other through it all. No matter how dark the times might feel, they want to remind each other that they are there to help them through it. “Cause every moment I’m with you, I can live my truth. Every day I’m by your side and you stay by mine. I just wanna lift you up. You showed me a better love” they sing.

With there release of “Better Love”, needanamebro are quickly winning over listeners and deservingly going to be touted as your next favourite girl group. Get ready for their domination”.

A terrific trio who have a locker full of promise and passion, I do feel like they are going to help resuscitate the girl group wave. As more interviews come and new music is released, we will learn more about who Yssy, Amelia and Maddie are and where they came from. I would be interested to know about their musical upbringings and the artists that influenced them. If some feel that needanamebro is a placeholder, you can tell that the success of their music and love they get on social media means that they should stick…