''Hell Breaks Loose'' is the seventh

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

singer Shane Nicholson, released on Lost Highway Australia,

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

in August 2015. It is the first album of new material since Nicholson's marriage break-up with

Kasey Chambers Kasey Chambers (born 4 June 1976) is an Australian country singer-songwriter and musician born in Mount Gambier. She is the daughter of fellow musicians, Diane and Bill Chambers, and the younger sister of musician and producer, Nash Chambers. ...

in 2013. The album peaked at number 16 on the ARIA Charts. Upon release, the album was described by Country Music Channel as Nicholson's most personal collection with Nicholson saying "Many of these songs are about self-discovery and new horizons, and also how that's not always great, it can also sometimes be difficult. You can veer down a few wrong paths. It can take time to adjust." Nicholson later added "I don't feel compelled to prove anything. I know with ''Hell Breaks Loose'' we came up with something that I loved. That's all that has ever mattered to me, really. The weight on your shoulders certainly feels greater when you are younger, and these days I'm just happy to be doing what I do, the way I like to do it." At the ARIA Music Awards of 2015, the album was won the ARIA Award for Best Country Album. At the Country Music Awards of Australia in January 2016, the album won the award for Alternative Country Album of the Year.

Background and recording

In mid-2013 Nicholson announced he had separated from wife of eight years,

, with whom he shares son Arlon and daughter Poet, and had released two

ARIA award The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

winning albums. The normally prolific songwriter then entered a dry spell of almost a year. At the invitation of his friend and indigenous songwriter

Warren H Williams Warren Hedley Williams (born 27 December 1963) is an Aboriginal Australian singer, musician and songwriter from Hermannsburg in Central Australia. As of 2013 he worked as a broadcaster on CAAMA Radio in Alice Springs. Early life Williams was ...

, Nicholson travelled to the remote town of

Hermannsburg Hermannsburg is a village and a former municipality in the Celle district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2015 it is part of the municipality Südheide. It has been a state-recognised resort town since 1971. It is situated on the river ...

, north-west of

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

. Nicholson said "I had things on the boil during that time but I wasn't properly writing. It was a product of my environment though." Nicholson was producing albums for other people "I was just making record after record, back to back, for other people ndafter 14-hour sessions in the studio you just don't come home and write songs." Nicholson said the vastness of the landscapes around Hermannsberg gave Nicholson the distance, both physical and figurative, to pick up his guitar to write. "What I got out there, there was this sense of perspective and being removed from my bubble." Nicholson said the distance is what he "needed", saying "it was the catalyst for the record coming to life."

Reception

Chris Familton from The Music AU discussed the songs personal reflection with traumatic experience, geographical locations and depression saying "Heavy subject matter abounds yet Nicholson applies a wonderfully light musical touch with plenty of acoustic guitar, piano and shuffling drums. Melodies dance and dive across the 13 songs whose folk and country hooks, with time, dig in deep." Country Music Channel called the album "wonderful".

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2015 albums Shane Nicholson (singer) albums ARIA Award-winning albums Albums produced by Shane Nicholson (singer)