Tame Impala completed their headline Australian Tour with a hometown show at Perth’s Belvoir Amphitheatre last week (check out our photo gallery of the gig here). Following the conclusion of their latest cross-country jaunt, Tame Impala will be heading back overseas to continue providing international markets with their psychelicious live show, including headlining Modular’s new Croatian island party-come-music festival FOR, but they’ll be doing it without a key member of their lineup.
A statement on Tame Impala’s Facebook page on Saturday revealed that bassist Nick Allbrook had left the band, with the Friday evening’s concert being his last as part of the lineup. The news came with Tame Impala’s usual jovial style, announcing “Nick Roland Paisley Adams Allbrook is hopping off the Tame Impala band wagon so that he can try and screw his head back on, and make an attempt to assimilate back into society.”
Allbrook’s final performance with the band at Perth’s Belvoir Amphitheatre marked “the very same place he played his first gig with us some 4 or 5 or 6 years ago,” wrote the band. Though on record Tame Impala is very much the result of frontman Kevin Parker (with occasional shared writing duties with Jay Watson), Allbrook was a key part of their live show with his inimitable energy and a founding member of the band and sister act POND, for whom he is the babyfaced, po-going frontman.
In fact, in a bit of musical chairs, it is Cam Avery who will be replacing his Allbrook/Avery partner on bass in the Tame Impala lineup, and as the band note: “you may remember Cam from such bands as The Growl and POND, neither of which he actually plays bass for but uuuh that’s how we roll.” The Growl recently opened for Tame Impala on their US Tour before returning to Australia for their own headline shows to launch their own album, with a number of Tame Impala staff showing up for a jam or two across their shows.
There is no statement yet as to whether Allbrook’s departure from Tame Impala will affect his musical commitments to POND, Allbrook/Avery and his other musical concern, Mink Mussell Creek.
In related news, POND are set to release their fifth studio album Hobo Rocket this August, while bandmate Jay Watson has revealed that it marks the first of a wave of solo releases from each member of the POND lineup in the coming months. Additionally, Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and touring drummer Julien Barbagallo have also kick-started another French inspired side-project, suitably called Relation Longue Distance.
You can read the full statement on Allbrook’s departure below:
Hey friends, fans and followers,
We have big news. It’s the end of an era. Tonight Nick play’s his last gig with us. Nick Roland Paisley Adams Allbrook is hopping off the Tame Impala band wagon so that he can try and screw his head back on, and make an attempt to assimilate back into society. A task the rest of us fear we will one day have to perform….
Anyway, heir to the throne is our long time super best musical blood brother Cam Avery, ape/womaniser/former pro golfer. You may remember Cam from such bands as The Growl and POND, neither of which he actually plays bass for but uuuh that’s how we roll.
Anyway anyone who saw us during the Allbrook era will know how awesome nick is, so cam has big shoes to fill, which is fortunate because Cam has big feet. big stinky feet that leave sock footprints in your house when he comes in and he’s like, hey man can I sleep on youz guysez’ couch?So Nick plays his last gig at Belvoir Amphitheatre tonight, the very same place he played his first gig with us some 4 or 5 or 6 years ago, not sure on that… Lost track of time…
We’re super happy for our bro Nick and wish him well in all his various fucking awesome artistic spewings and endeavours that he’ll actually have time for now.. Good on ya brah.
