Adam Johnstone, lead guitarist for Australian energy pop group Romero, died on October 17. He was 32. Johnstone’s brother and bandmate Dave shared the information in an Instagram publish, revealing that Adam had been residing with most cancers since 2019. Dave wrote that Adam “handed away peacefully at dwelling surrounded by his household and pals.” Discover his full assertion under.

Adam Johnstone grew up in Melbourne, Australia, and started taking part in music together with his brother Dave once they have been children. Inspired by their mother and father, they jammed of their basement collectively from a younger age, with Dave gravitating towards drums and Adam selecting up the electrical guitar. Their early repertoire largely included covers of Blink-182 and Rancid, as they advised Pitchfork’s Evan Minsker final yr throughout a Rising interview.

“Our mum was really an artwork and music instructor as nicely. She was at all times very supportive of us, however even earlier than we kind of selected devices that we ended up taking part in with, we’d be banging on crap and taking part in on keyboards and all that kind of stuff,” Adam advised Pitchfork. “We had ended up being on the faculty that mother taught at for a number of years as nicely. So the artwork and music room was our playhouse too. After we completed, we might simply go and decide up something we wished to and play it.”

Adam and Dave fashioned Romero in 2018 together with singer Alanna Oliver, bassist Justin Tawil, and rhythm guitarist Fergus Sinclair. Adam and Dave had beforehand performed within the band Summer season Blood, and have been contemplating sitting out further musical initiatives after that band broke up. Then, Adam met Oliver, who performed him one in every of her demos on her telephone. Gobsmacked by her voice, Adam determined to start out a brand new band.

“When Romero occurred, all of the sound that we had got here actually pure and all of it felt loads simpler,” Adam advised Pitchfork. “It simply felt prefer it was meshing collectively loads higher. There wasn’t any stress to jot down a sure means. We have been simply figuring all the things out. That in itself was thrilling to be round.”

Romero issued their debut studio album Flip It On! final spring; Adam Johnstone’s lead guitar riffs are a defining trait of the document. In saying his brother’s demise, Dave Johnstone summed up his distinctive sound thusly: “It goes with out saying that he was an extremely gifted musician. He knew the best way to write a fucking riff. I had a entrance row seat to all of his songwriting, and it at all times had such a haunting, nostalgic and tortured magnificence to it, like he was relaying a lot ache via the one means he might talk it, channeling it via a tunnel of affection and letting it bleed via his guitar.”