Nicholas Allbrook has released his fourth solo album, Manganese.
The Pond frontman tackles Australia’s past and present in the record’s words and sounds, with Allbrook realising the need for accountability in Manganese.
“I feel like Australia as a whole suffers from a collective moral injury that puts a block on our emotional, social, cultural development,” the musician, who grew up in the predominantly First Nations WA area of Kimberley, says. “We have a great weight, which is acknowledging what’s happened in terms of white settlement, massacres and other catastrophic injuries to the Indigenous people and the overall soul of the country.
“I don’t think we can progress unless there’s some kind of truth-telling. We all share it. It’s part of the repression. This really repressed, hard way of being. It’s like we’re trying to hide something.”
Despite its evidently heavy themes, Manganese whizzes along with Allbrook’s fervent kaleidoscopic touch, with plenty of synths, classic rock touches, and psychedelic flourishes.
Written, recorded and largely played by Allbrook in Fremantle, the album contains previous singles like the thrilling “Commodore”, which was about “being directionless catching the bus around its full loop just to get some time for nothing,” “Round Round the Moon and All” and “Jackie”.
Several songs are also unafraid to get vulnerable, exposing its creator more than ever before. “That’s almost the only important thing, that sense of vulnerability and honesty. That’s also what the album is, essentially: dredging the depths of all the really hard things instead of doing a personal therapy session over a year!” Allbrook adds.
Following the release of his new album, Allbrook will embark on an East Coast tour backed by his full band, with tickets on sale now via his official website (see full dates below).
