Glenn Richards, the frontman/songwriter of acclaimed Melbourne five-piece Augie March, has announced he’ll release his debut solo album in late 2010.

The award-winning "One Crowded Hour” singer released a statement yesterday answering the all important question, why a solo album? “May as well ask ‘why an album at all?’,” Richards pined, “an even better and more probing question, and even less likely to be asked than the original. Because it’s not really a solo album, it’s another album of songs written by me that happens to feature other players and a deliberately low rent approach to the making.”

Helping out on Richards’ latest musical effort is fellow Melbourne musos Dan Luscombe and Mike Noga (whose day jobs are guitar and drums in the Drones), while Richards is also keeping it in the family with his brother Chris also appearing on the upcoming disc.

“I’ve talked to my brother Chris, Dan Luscombe and Mike Noga about doing something together for years and happily we’ve just done it,” Richards says. “We set up in a warehouse the size of a skating rink, rehearsed and recorded 19 songs over a month, although with the many technical hitches I can safely say we probably did 19 in 19. A fair achievement and not without cost to health and sanity. I’m in the middle of vocals now and it feels like there’s an electric razor shaving the inside of my neck, and I can’t remember ever swearing so much when I’m talking to myself on the street. It’s rough and ready but not without ambition and some finesse. Like most of the Augie stuff it ain’t hip, but I hope it’s got some legs to out- stroll the sprinting ninnies on Cool Street.”

While Richards’ didn’t announce a release date, fans can expect the LP to drop in the first week of November.