Nicholas AllbrookPure Gardiya
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- Nicholas Allbrook, has certainly been one of the most prolific artists to come from the psych-rock scene that has been positively booming out west for the past decade, or there abouts. Perth is well and truly impala country now, and whether you enjoy the scene or not, there’s very little chance you’ve managed to escape it entirely over the years. Allbrook’s contemporaries like Kevin ParkerCam Avery and Jay Watson have produced masses of music via a variety of different bands and solo projects, though one could argue none have gone quite so intently off the deep end as he has. From pushing the boundaries of straight-up psych rock with his band Pond, to his highly experimental solo work, you get the impression Allbrook is a constantly restless artist, never content unless tinkering away at one project or another. So it is in this context we find his sophomore solo record, Pure Gardiya.

Opener In The Gutter is built around an acoustic guitar with a soft piano melody and mournful strings. Allbrook is the master of lending verbal gravitas to the seemingly inconsequential narratives he explores in his lyrics. Maybe that has a lot to do with the fact he’s got a fairer idea of what they’re actually all about, but still it’s more about the way he sings, than what he’s actually saying that draws you into his worldview. Things aren’t always so abstract though, the album’s lead single Advance is a direct commentary on the nation’s national anthem. As Allbrook challenges and questions our society’s status quo in his lyrics, sonically he’s well and truly jumped over a pond or two and landed firmly in Bowie territory. His influence is everywhere on this record, though perhaps nowhere more so than on this song, with its driving piano melody, glam rock chorus with the big vocal crescendo; Allbrook has plenty to thank the omnipotent Brit for. Things get even weirder on Pyramids and Cranes, with its electronic beat and soft vocals, the overall sound is very Congratulations-era MGMT, which probably shouldn’t be a surprise given Allbrook has frequently toured with the US duo in the past. On Mauerbauertraurigkeit, Allbrook returns to the glam rock chords and big choruses. The title comes from one of those supremely clever German words for which there’s no English version, but roughly translates as, ‘the inexplicable urge to push people away, even close friends you really like – as if all of your social tastebuds suddenly go numb.’ Now if that isn’t an Allbrook-esque concept then I don’t know what is.

Pure Gardiya is not a polished album. It’s certainly no Tame Impala, or even Pond: it’s rough and raw, filled with imperfections and unresolved sonic tensions that verge on the grating at times. It’s a challenging listen, but in the best possible way. Allbrook has positioned himself firmly on the experimental fringe of his beloved alt-pysch-rock genre and pushed his sound outwards in every direction. Yet, remarkably, the further he pushes the more his sounds and themes seem to converge, leading to a pleasantly surprising cohesive body of work. On Career Allbrook sings, “forget your career, I know you’re scared but that’s okay,” and although it seems impossible to unravel Allbrook’s meanings, Pure Gardiya does feel like a record created in isolation, away from everything else going on around him. It’s risky, weird and absolutely requires multiple listens before one can even begin to comprehend it, but it’s also totally fearless and that’s perhaps it’s greatest asset of all.

- Clare Armstrong.

Nicholas AllbrookPure Gardiya

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