The Bracknall: On Their Own Terms

There's something refreshingly uncomplicated about The Bracknall. For all the growing audiences, new releases and bigger shows, the Essex guitar band have built their following on a simple principle: make music they believe in and trust everything else to follow.

It's an approach that's taken them from homemade rehearsal spaces to crowdfunded records, independent chart success and an increasingly loyal audience. Yet despite their growing success, Jack and Harry Dacey seem determined to keep doing things their own way.

When we catch up with frontman Jack Dacey, he's at home in Essex, with brother Harry joining us shortly afterwards. Talk quickly turns to Bristol, a city the band already know well.

"Been a few times, really, really like it," Jack tells us.

They've played several venues here over the years, but Exchange holds particularly fond memories.

"We played there a little while ago and we fucking loved it."

A musical upbringing

For Jack and Harry, music has always been something of a family affair. Growing up, their father's record collection provided an early education in classic rock, with Harry naturally following the musical discoveries of his older brother.

"Our dad's got a really good taste in music," Harry explains, recalling how those early influences helped shape their own listening habits.

It wasn't always appreciated at the time.

"When you're young, I suppose you're kind of wondering what the fuck you're listening to," he laughs. "And then the older you get you sort of appreciate the fact that you had a decent musical education."

The brothers might listen to different things day-to-day now, but that shared musical foundation remains. It's easy to hear how their love of classic guitar music has carried through into The Bracknall, even as the band's own sound has continued to develop.

And being brothers in the same band? That has its advantages too, although they're quick to laugh about how comfortably they can take the piss out of each other.

Trusting their instincts

The band's latest EP, Waiting For The Lights To Change, showcases their expanding guitar-driven sound, but it's the stripped-back closing track, "Head Above The Water", that catches our attention.

Jack explains they'd finished recording four songs in Halifax but felt something was missing. The track had been knocking around for years, with the band repeatedly trying to turn it into something bigger.

Eventually, they decided to trust the song as it was.

"In the end we were just like, no, you know what? Let's go into the studio, play it as stripped back as that."

The result was essentially recorded live, with Harry adding electric guitar while Eddie Smith took to the piano and harmonica — a nod to the band's love of Neil Young.

That creative balance extends to their three guitarists. Harry describes Eddie as an "absolute shredder", while his own playing leans towards atmospheric textures and soundscapes.

"You'd think that we tread on each other's toes a lot more than we do, but we don't."

It's a band comfortable enough in their own sound to know when to build something up and when to strip it back.

Doing things their own way

That confidence runs through more than just their songwriting.

When we discuss crowdfunding their previous album, Falling Out Of View, we ask whether taking money directly from fans creates pressure to deliver what those supporters expect.

Not particularly, it turns out.

"We're very much writing instinctively, so if we like it, that's kind of the metric."

The band were incredibly proud of the finished record, and their confidence in the material was what mattered most.

"Unless you like it, how can you expect anybody else to?"

It's an attitude that has helped them build a loyal audience, fund their music and establish themselves as a genuinely independent band.

"We've kind of done all the hard yards where we've got ourselves a fanbase, like we sell tickets," Harry explains.

They've also retained ownership of their recordings, something that means a great deal after years of working together.

"We own all our own music. That's kind of important to us."

Rather than waiting for opportunities to arrive, The Bracknall have created their own — and the growing crowds suggest that approach is paying off.

Life on the road

With shows alongside Embrace and their own headline tour approaching, life is getting busier.

The practicalities, however, remain decidedly old-school: long drives, everyone piled into the van and little time to explore between venues.

"Generally it's kind of play, pile in the van, and we're off to somewhere else."

Even their pre-show rituals are refreshingly straightforward.

"We have a couple of beers before, pat each other on the arse and then we walk out there usually."

No elaborate superstitions or backstage demands. Just a decent pub, a bit of camaraderie and the music.

As for what's next, the band already have plenty of song ideas knocking around and expect to spend time writing in 2027, alongside another busy festival season.

For now, they're focused on the current tour, culminating in a major headline show at London's KOKO in December.

And, apparently, a few warm cans of Guinness in the tour van.

Elvis, Bowie and a return to Bristol

We finish with a Bristol Music Weekly tradition: if you could collaborate with absolutely anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?

The answers come quickly: Elvis Presley and David Bowie.

Cue enthusiastic discussion of Elvis jumpsuits, Ziggy Stardust outfits and the prospect of sharing a stage with two genuine musical icons.

Before we leave them, we ask what Bristol can expect when they return to Exchange on 19 November.

Their promise is simple: an hour of arms-in-the-air singing and a chance to forget everything happening outside the venue.

Life isn't particularly easy for many people right now, they acknowledge, but for the duration of a Bracknall show, they want the crowd to leave all that at the door.

"We love Bristol, so we can't wait to get down there and see them."

With Cusp and The Rogues joining them at Exchange, it promises to be a proper night of guitar music.

From their father's record collection to the music they're making today, The Bracknall's journey has always been driven by a genuine love of what they do. And whether they're recording new material, heading out on tour or playing to a packed room, that enthusiasm remains at the heart of it all.

Trust your instincts. Back yourselves. Do it on your own terms.