Nicholas Allbrook – “Jackie”

Australia’s Nicholas Allbrook — whom you might know from Pond and Allbrook/Avery, not to mention being a touring member of Tame Impala until 2013 — has announced his fourth studio solo album. Produced by Allbrook and HOKO, and mixed by Jay Watson, Manganese follows 2019’s Wabi Sabi Bruto Bruta and will be out in June. Along with the news is a lead single and video, “Jackie.”

“This song is about my friend (whose name isn’t Jackie) who died in 2021,” Allbrook says. “She was fantastic and the news left me with familiar feelings of guilt and regret and ‘why didn’t I do more or know better.’ I don’t usually get hit with creative bolts while running, but by the canal once in London I was struck with the hopeful image of her rowing away from the earth that had been so hurtful and hard, on a black lake surrounded by stars, finally finding peace and silence. It felt nice to think about death like that, bathed in pale silver light rather than just cold. I got lots of instrumental help from Nathaniel Hoho, who bizarrely and brilliantly put in the nature documentary voice about the giant panda which should never work but somehow does.”

Listen and watch below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Commodore”
02 “Babbel”
03 “Manganese”
04 “Jackie”
05 “The Endless Jetty”
06 “Vale The Chord”
07 “Mazda”
08 “Round Round The Moon And All”
09 “The Night Before You Flew”

Manganese is out 6/9 via Spinning Top Records.