Based in Ireland at the time of The Repetition’s release, Tom split his time between Dublin and France between 2010-2014. During this period Tom collaborated on several musical projects, including an album with enigmatic US singer/songwriter Josh T Pearson (known for his solo work and as the frontman of legendary short-lived Texan outfit Lift To Experience) under the name ‘West Country Night’. The group released one album before disbanding and going their separate ways.

Tom returned to Australia in 2014 and began writing songs for a new album immediately. Upon hearing of his return, friend and tour mate Lawrence Greenwood (formerly known as Whitley) got in touch.

“He said he wanted to make an album that sounded like how he hears me,” says Tom. “Since we both love Mark Kozelek, Sufjan Stevens and some other great raw acoustic stuff it made perfect sense.”

The majority of Futureproof was recorded over a fortnight towards the end of 2015 in Lawrence’s home-studio set up on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. “That’s where the album was born,” Tom explains. “Lawrence focussed my efforts and understood the most powerful songs that needed to be recorded.”

Long-time collaborator and friend Corrina Scanlon returns on Futureproof with her rich-but-delicate harmonies. Melbourne multi-instrumentalist Biddy Connor added strings and Melbourne trio Sleep Decade added further depth to the album via their drum and synth contributions.

Futureproof sees Tom embrace the full amplitude of life. Not just a breakup album, the record sees Tom collect a series of moments ranging from closeups to landscapes, personal to universal.

“We should share this beautiful mess,” he says. “The point of the songs on Futureproof is not to wallow in sadness, but to get far enough inside the pain to see it clearly and move past it.”

Album opener ‘Future Regrets’ is open, sad and honest. “Love elevates,” explains Tom. “The reality of that elevation is that the ground is a long way down.”

In ‘Sinking Feeling’ Tom refers to his personal experience to provide a snapshot of the sadness that can come with the end of a significant relationship. “I wanted to convey what it is to go through the necessity and mundanity of every day life while you are falling apart,” he says. “I didn't want the song to be circumspect or balanced, we do enough of that.”

The song ‘Shifting Backward’ provides contrast via subtle affirmations. "I see our pain like a bruise under your nail / We could watch it grow out and just start again,” Tom sings. “It is hopeful,” he says. “There is pain but it doesn’t mean it’s the end. It is interesting to live with pain and we are all different people after experiencing it.”

Tom Cooney’s third album is arresting, raw and stunning in its honesty. At times lilting and delicate and at other moments hollow and desolate, Futureproof is a time stamp filled with both sorrow and light.