Bret McKenzie – Freak Out City: Album Review

By Dominic Walsh on 20th August 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

Bret McKenzie (one half of Flight Of The Conchords) releases his second solo record; the follow up to 2022’s Songs Without Jokes.

Released: 15th August 2025

Label: Sub Pop

Format: CD / Vinyl / Digital

FREAK OUT CITY

Freak Out City, as an album name, sounds completely in the Bret McKenzie ballpark. Then, dig into the glorious artwork and you get more of a flavour of McKenzie’s fervent mind.

Songs Without Jokes was one of our albums of 2022; it marked McKenzie’s step into the solo world proper after writing and recording songs that have scooped Grammy’s and Oscar’s. Now, Freak Out City follows, and in brilliant fashion.

A MUSICAL TRIP

There aren’t many wild genre shifts in McKenzie’s sound on Freak Out City, but he delivers a raft of different styles throughout the album.

One of the lead singles, All I Need, is blessed with gospel tinged harmonies that melt the soul one top of a tight rhythm and hypnotic guitar licks. Brassy stabs also perforate the sound. The band that play on Freak Out City are of the highest order and it shines on each and every track.

More harmonies fly on The Only Dream I Know. Whereas All I Need is faster in tempo, The Only Dream I Know is a country tinged ballad that canters along with lush strings adding glorious levels of colour. All The Time has a similarly melancholic tone with more delicious harmonies.

LOOKING FOR THAT DOPAMINE HIT

Bethnal Green Blues tells the tale of a person losing his life under a ‘drink machine.’ The vocal hook in the song makes it an incredibly catchy piece, however there is excellent juxtaposition between the words and the musical style.

All I want to make is a difference
Not fade away into insignificance
I’m not gonna lie
But every day’s a little more difficult
Holding out hope for a miracle
Maybe I’m aiming too high

Freak Out City’s title track is a veritable smorgasbord of jazzy salsa rhythms, call and response vocals and quirky piano. Talking of heading down the rabbit hole; McKenzie sings of the perils of being online dealing with conspiracy culture. It is definitely apt for 2025, and probably the most Flight Of The Conchords style song on the album.

I can’t believe anything (I can’t believe anything)
I can’t believe what I see (I can’t believe what I see)
If this could happen to you (if this could happen to you)
Then it could happen to me (then it could happen to me)

THE HIGHS

For the melancholia in several parts of the record, there are oodles of moments that make you want to dance and smile.

Too Young bursts with energy that makes you want to move that little bit quicker. ‘I’m gettin’ too young for all this shit,’ he sings. The delivery is full of sheepish humour and defiance. The closing line of the song gives hope; ‘Oh child everything’s gonna be alright!’ We can only hope. If you’re a fan of Father John Misty’s witty wordplay, then Freak Out City will be right up your street.

To close the album, McKenzie delivers arguably the highlight of the album. Shouldna Come Here Tonight uses an intro evocative of Three Dog Night’s Mama Told Me Not To Come. It then settles into a White Album era type groove. It is hard to escape the Beatles references here, but that is no bad thing. McKenzie does it splendidly with his killer band. As the song and album reaches its conclusion, there is still one more moment of panic in the closing scream.

Freak Out City is a brilliant second album. For fans of Bret McKenzie, this will be no surprise. Records like this deserve to be heard on a wide scale. It is crafted magnificently and sounds luxurious. Get Freak Out City in your ears.