Conchords' Bret McKenzie on his debut album and NZ tour: I'm a soft rocker!

By Karl Puschmann

Freelance entertainment writer·NZ Herald·

11 May, 2022 11:10 PM5 mins to read

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Bret McKenzie is releasing his debut solo album Songs Without Jokes and touring New Zealand. Photo: Rebecca McMillan

When Bret McKenzie would tell people he was working on his debut solo album the reaction he got was always the same.

"Always, their first question was, 'is it comedy?' and I'd have to say, 'no, it's not'. It was the first conversation I had to have every time," he

Then with a grin, he adds, "Ironically the album sounds like a joke anyway, but still..."

That's not entirely true, although eagle-eared album listeners will hear a cheeky, fourth-wall-breaking gag snuck into the first minute of the first song on the album.

"I can't help myself a little bit," he concedes, "But my aim for the record was not to write a comedy album it was to do a music album. A non-comedy album. I noticed that when I listened to music I didn't listen to comedy music so I thought, 'Why don't I make some music that I would like to listen to?'.

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What McKenzie likes to listen to is a good question. Especially as he's proved himself a master at tackling any genre of music over the years. He won an Academy Award for his showstopping show tune Man or Muppet from the acclaimed musical-comedy movie The Muppets in 2011. He was a member of Wellington's influential reggae-fusion band The Black Seeds up until 2007.

And, most famously, he parodied every style under the sun with Jemaine Clement in their comedy duo Flight of the Conchords. On both, their mid-2000s HBO sitcom and their Grammy award-winning records, the pair tackled genres like 80s synth-pop (Inner City Pressure), boom-bap rap (Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros), kitschy 60s French pop (Foux du Fafa) and 70s era Bowie (Bowie's In Space).

Flight of the Conchords Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement.

Although Bowie's influence isn't overtly on Songs Without Jokes, it's that last one that points directly to the era of music McKenzie digs. Over its 11 tracks, you'll hear the unmistakable influences of Paul McCartney's experimental era post-Beatles/pre-Wings, classic Bruce Springsteen rockers, the catchy Great American Songbook pop songwriting of Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman and the silky smooth, studio shine of jazz-rockers Steely Dan.

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"It's definitely a dad rock vibe, isn't it?" he smiles. "Yeah. Very soft rock. I'm a soft rocker! One thing that's funny is I really like synths so there's quite a lot of synth on the record. I'd want to make songs sound more contemporary so I'd put a synth on. But then it just became less 70s and more 80s. I'd hit a wall. I can't seem to get beyond the 80s."

Bret McKenzie on the ol' banjo. Photo: Rebecca McMillan

The idea for the album came to him while he was recording some songs for a movie with a band comprised of L.A's top session players, including former Steely Dan guitarist Dean Parks and legendary studio bass player Leland Sklar who's widely acknowledged as one of the progenitors of the soft rock sound. McKenzie casually mentioned he was thinking of writing some solo material and was surprised when the whole band said that if he got the songs together they were in.

"It was such a departure for me. Stepping out like this was quite intimidating. The songs are more personal. I was interested in sincerity and openness on the record and that's totally different from Conchords and other work I've done, which is all characters and worlds. There's not too much honesty or openness. I was curious in exploring that because it was so different for me. I did feel a little bare playing a demo or an idea to people. That first moment it's a little frightening. But having the support of those players really gave me a boost."

Bret McKenzie with Sesame Street's Ernie and the Muppet's Kermit during the 2018 Jim Henson Retrospectacle press conference in Wellington.

The album's been finished for a while now, it's release pushed back three or four times due to covid-related touring cancellations. But now - touch wood - it's all rock n' roll, with the first single A Little Tune out today, followed by the album's long-awaited release on August 26 and finally - and most excitingly - a national tour in September.

"I'm taking a big band, it's like a seven-piece band," he smiles. "It's gonna be super fun. Really different. I can't wait. Doing live shows with a big band and creating a live big music experience with the audience... That's one of the big things I'm excited about. The feeling of the musicians playing together on stage and the audience being a part of that group feeling. I'm super excited about that."

THE LOWDOWN
Who: Funny man turned soft rocker Bret McKenzie
What: Debut solo album Songs Without Jokes and an upcoming national tour.
When: Lead single A Little Tune offers a little taste of the album today before its release on August 26. The tour begins on Friday, 2 September in Nelson and concludes on Wednesday, 14 September with a show at the Auckland Town Hall.