Bret McKenzie Announces Second Solo Album 'Freak Out City' With New Single All I Need
Tuesday, 03 June 2025
Written by Jon Stickler
Photo: Izzie Austin
Bret McKenzie, best known for his band Flight Of The Conchords and their eponymous television show, has announced his second solo album.
The follow-up to his 2022 debut 'Songs Without Jokes' is titled 'Freak Out City' and will arrive on August 15 via Sub Pop. Created during the Grammy and Academy Award-winning musician's performances in New Zealand and Los Angeles with his band, The State Highway Wonders, it draws inspiration from McKenzie's musical idols Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman.
As a preview, McKenzie has shared All I Need, a joyful, heartfelt pop song that reflects on his personal life, particularly the love for his wife Hannah. He said:
"This is a love song for my wife, Hannah. We’ve been together a long time. We always love each other, but let’s be honest, there are days we love each other more than other days. This song was from one of those days when we were especially in love.
"It started on the piano with the chorus. From the very beginning, I could hear the horn stabs and the band sound in my head. I loved the chorus so much I started performing the song live before I’d finished the verses.
"I remember around this time I watched the new Beatles documentary ‘Get Back’. George Harrison has a song idea, but doesn’t have the lyrics, and John Lennon’s advice is to just sing the word ‘pomegranate and the lyrics will come eventually.’ Hilarious. I loved this advice. So, for the entire tour, I sang ‘pomegranate’ where I had a gap in the verse. It became known as ‘All I Need (The Pomegranate Song).’
"The song was recorded at The Surgery Studio in Wellington with Lee Prebble engineering. It took a few swings to capture this one, but I love where it landed. Initially, it had an instrumental outro, but I was singing along with the recording at home one night and wondered if there might be a vocal sing-along part. I was just rocking out with myself, doing my best Paul McCartney impression. I didn’t seriously think it would make the track. But when we were recording vocals that week, we tried singing the idea with backing singers Iris Little and Moana Leota. We were all looking at each other, going ‘yeah, that’s cool.’ We tracked it immediately, and I think you can feel that energy in the recording. We’re pretty much singing it for the first time when we recorded it."
McKenzie and his band will support the LP with autumn tour dates to be confirmed soon.
'Freak Out City' tracklist:
1. Bethnal Green Blues
2. Freak Out City
3. The Only Dream I Know
4. All the Time
5. That’s the Way the World Goes ‘Round
6. All I Need
7. Eyes on the Sun
8. Too Young
9. Highs and Lows
10. Shouldna Come Here Tonight
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