Brand New Zeros is singer-songwriter Ronan MacManus and lead guitarist Luke Dolan.  

Cutting their teeth (and hair) at rehearsals in Dolan’s barbershop in Watford, the pairing quickly struck-up a potent creative relationship and began writing music together. Realising their potential, events escalated rapidly from there and before too long Brand New Zero’s had grown into a fully fledged band project with label signings and tour opportunities soon landing at their feet. Releasing their s/t debut album in 2015, the Zeros also landed a breakthrough tour with Ronan’s big brother Declan MacManus, perhaps better known as Elvis Costello.  

Signing to Fretsore Records in 2019, after a succession of warmly received singles, the band are finally ready to release their long-awaited follow-up album: ‘Back To Zero’ this Summer.  

Laying out a smorgasbord of influences in songs that take-in the sounds of classic rock, grunge, folk, new-wave, Americana and much more; listeners of ‘Back To Zero’ will be disarmed by heart-on-sleeve tenderness akin to Paul Weller one moment, charmed by Squeeze-style curiosities the next, and exhilarated by Who-esque rock rampages, all in one session.  

Led by MacManus’ impressively versatile vocal, ‘Back To Zero’ finds a band unafraid to speak their mind and speak it loud. Hard-hitting songs about the staggering wealth divide (‘Money Goes To Money’) and commentaries on the alarming escalation in mass-shootings in schools (‘Angels With Guns’), sit alongside more introspective songs about facing your demons in the face of temptation (‘Cigarette’) and the substance of ‘Human Kindness’; the latter being a topic we have perhaps all dwelled on over the past year. As MacManus says of the song:  

“I wrote ‘Human Kindness’ some time ago from personal experiences, but the current global situation has elevated how the song resonates with me, adding a new dimension of relevance. We had recorded this with the full band for our upcoming album and thought now would be the right time to send it out into the world. As my wife is a nurse, I think we have all seen how the human experience is at its best when we work together, thus inspiring the message of the song.”  

An emotive piano-ballad and a centre-piece of the new album, ‘Human Kindness’ found a whole new audience during the pandemic when it was featured on Artists4NHS. A fundraising initiative founded by MacManus, Artists4NHS was launched with the assistance of Elvis Costello, who performed at an organised live-stream performance in its honour, alongside global stars such as Joss Stone and Jake Burns of Stiff Little Fingers.  

A sophomore effort that is so much more than a back-to-basics; taking their cues from the classic to forge something fresh, Brand New Zeros deliver an album of extraordinary range, accomplished performance and emotional heart for the ages