Brett Newski, the hardest working guy in indie rock, has built a career out of DIY hustle and some truly great songs. For the past decade he’s been traveling the globe playing everywhere from dingy basements and coffee shops (and random Wal Marts) to major festival and theater stages – playing with bands like the Pixies and Violent Femmes among others. Along the way he’s made a ton of friends.
For Friend Rock, his latest effort, Newski roped in a number of those friends to join him in the studio. Among those he brought in included Nada Surf’s Matthew Caws, the Verve Pipes’ Brian Vander, Guster’s Ryan Miller, Miles Nielsen and Scott Terry from Red Wanting Blue, as well as overseas acts like France’s H Burns, Canada’s The Secret Beach, and the South African band The Shabs.
“Most of my friends I started with in music have since retired, which makes me feel like the world has turned and left me here,” he said recently. “Collaborating with fellow ‘musician lifers’ on this album made me feel less lonely and insane. It’s been neat to become pals with musical heroes from childhood.”
The songs here are not a huge departure from the music Newski has been making since 2011, switching from mellower acoustic fare, like the album opener “Freak Flag Fly,” with Magic Charles to rowdier tracks, like the “Chemicals,” joined by Caws, one of the early standout songs here along with the odd, but undeniably fun “Only Macaulay Culkin Can Save Us Now” (joined by Terry from Red Wanting Blue).
Through his music, podcast and books, Newski manages to be both endearingly goofy at times, but also vulnerable and sincere, especially with last year’s album and book It’s Hard to Be a Person: Defeating Anxiety, Surviving the World and Having More Fun where he discussed his own struggles with mental health. That trend carries on with Friends Rock, where the nine songs seem to vacillate from tough topics to lighter moments.
Newski struck up many of the friendships with the musicians here playing shows in far flung places over the years, but a number of these connections were also made through his podcast “Dirt from the Road,” where guest musicians talk to him about their worst moments on the road. Newski will be piling up stories of his own, playing shows across the U.S this spring and likely well into the summer as well.