It may surprise you that Tim Minchin, despite his bounty of accolades including Helpmann Awards, Oliviers, Logies and an Order of Australia, is yet to release a debut studio album. That is until now!

Off the back of some devastating blows – his Los Angeles production of Larrikins was shut down after spending four years developing the DreamWorks animation, and his musical Groundhog Day had a shorter Broadway run than expected – Minchin naturally turned his losses into artistry to fuel his first LP, Apart Together.

Cue “Leaving L.A.”, the first single released from his upcoming album that bittersweetly tracks his final year in the Californian city. Another single “Airport Piano” examines wealth and happiness, while “I’ll Take Lonely Tonight” tells the tale of temptations on touring. There’s no clear through-line stylistically or thematically with Minchin, yet the songs sit neatly packaged and strangely cohesive – perhaps it’s his underlying theatrical flare.

We were fortunate enough to chat through a few of his tracks with Minchin ahead of Apart Together‘s release, as well as touching on metacognition, his relationship with death, online dating and his good friend Briggs. Check out the interview below.

Tim Minchin’s Apart Together is out Friday November 20th through BMG Australia. Pre-order the album HERE.

Tim will be performing Apart Together in its entirety tonight in a one-off concert at the iconic Trackdown Studios. The concert will be streamed at 7pm (in your time zone) and will available for just 48 hours and only accessible to ticket holders. Secure a ticket HERE.

Tim has just been announced as one of the acts performing at Perth Festival 2021, playing Kings Park with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra on February 5th. Tickets are on sale now, and can be found HERE.

You can connect and keep up to date with Minchin via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

This article was originally published by The AU Review.

WATCH: Tim Minchin