Apart Together is the first traditional studio album by Australia's Tim Minchin, who built his reputation over the previous two decades as an award-winning comedian, actor, and composer/lyricist. Known for the stage musicals Matilda and Groundhog Day (both Olivier Award winners for Best New Musical) as well as for the comedic songs of his standup act, he alternates humor and earnestness on an album that reflects on four ultimately frustrating years spent living and working in Los Angeles before he moved to Sydney in 2018. Recorded with a host of studio musicians and multiple orchestrators, Apart Together comes off a lot like a rock opera, both in its scale and its mix of rousing power ballads and playful piano rock. A track that falls somewhere in between is "Leaving LA." A narrative piece, it combines poignant melodies, cynical remembrances, and wordplay like "a stoned Emma Stone" and "I've seen your sport and I don't wanna play." The livelier "Talked Too Much, Stayed Too Long" opts for a strutting, bluesy, funky rock, as Minchin, punctuated by female backing vocals, recalls playing keyboards in various clubs throughout his life. Elsewhere, the related "Airport Piano" settles into a catchy, Elton John-like pop/rock to set an evocative scene. While most of the album incorporates humor, he keeps things relatively sincere on songs including the title track and "I'll Take Lonely Tonight," a wistful, piano-based hotel ballad with only gentle, atmospheric accompaniment until it breaks open at the end. If moody and, for better or worse, steeped in theatrical instincts, Apart Together successfully captures the dissatisfaction of a writer separated from family in a grasping city. In fact, its overarching narrative and vivid imagery could have the makings of a show.
© Marcy Donelson /TiVo