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Review
It’s somehow hard to believe that Taylor Kirk, the man behind Timber Timbre, is Canadian, so drenched in the sweat of the American Deep South is his eponymous third album (actually his first UK release). Filled with the kind of tunes that sound as though they were conceived specifically with the likes of True Blood in mind, Kirk’s world is dark, brooding and ever so slightly threatening, combining folk, blues and country to conjure up a world in which – as he puts it on No Bold Villain – “One of us is not normal / And it might not be you”. Throw in wheezing organs, out-of-tune saloon pianos and vocals treated with a claustrophobic reverb and it’s enough to make you reconsider that trip to Toronto.
It’s a subtle affair, though, shadowy yet full of space. Opener Demon Host begins mournfully, Kirk’s voice, accompanied only by guitar until near the song’s conclusion, delivering lines so gently that their enigmatic portent takes time to grasp. But the confusing succession of religious iconography sinks in slowly, with lines like “Death, she must have been your whale / A bone beneath the reaper’s veil” an indication of the voodoo-esque content to come, and as the album progresses these images begin to leap out with increasing strength beyond the intimate backing of autoharp, lap steel, violin and drums laid down by his new bandmates, Mika Posen and Simon Trottier. Like random sentences extracted from a Southern Gothic short story, they leave the listener to piece together evidence, with Magic Arrow offering a vision of “perimeters scratched across the nation’s native hide” over what could pass for Calexico, had they ever been produced by Angelo Badalamenti. Trouble Comes Knocking, meanwhile, recalls Mannish Boy, albeit one with chained legs, threats such as “When your trouble comes knocking / I hope you ain’t there” underlined by rattlesnake percussion and strings like distant sirens.
It’s Lay Down in theTall Grass that takes the Oscar on this cinematic feast, however, its twitching groove combining Dr John, Tom Waits and Elvis Presley before breaking out into the kind of guitar solo that Duane Eddy might perform in his nightmares. It’s the perfect introduction to Kirk’s film noir environment of empty roadhouses and dusty jukeboxes, pitch-black swamplands and spooky shacks. You might not want to live there, as they say, but it’s an extraordinary place to visit.
--Wyndham WallaceFind more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
My introduction to Timber Timbre came in the form of the truly beautiful Demon Host, which left me needing to hear more.
The rest of the album has more layers than the stripped down acoustic beauty of the opening track, but the effects are the same. Each song creeps under your skin and quickly wins you over.
The songs are sparse and simple, and combined with his quivering vocals and dark, morbid lyrics, they create a really dark yet exciting atmosphere.
I absolutely love this album, and the bonus disc, which contains a live recording, is truly wonderful.
Timber Timbre blends country, folk and blues in a unique way. I really can't recommend his work enough. Buy this now and let him cast his black magic spell on you.
The rest of the album has more layers than the stripped down acoustic beauty of the opening track, but the effects are the same. Each song creeps under your skin and quickly wins you over.
The songs are sparse and simple, and combined with his quivering vocals and dark, morbid lyrics, they create a really dark yet exciting atmosphere.
I absolutely love this album, and the bonus disc, which contains a live recording, is truly wonderful.
Timber Timbre blends country, folk and blues in a unique way. I really can't recommend his work enough. Buy this now and let him cast his black magic spell on you.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I cant stop playing this.
Its catchy dark indie alt country....kinda.
Love his voice.
First heard a track of this cd 'magic arrow' on Breaking Bad
and so searched it out. So glad i did.
Its catchy dark indie alt country....kinda.
Love his voice.
First heard a track of this cd 'magic arrow' on Breaking Bad
and so searched it out. So glad i did.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Amazingly different
6 Aug 2010
You must listen to this album; it is so different and hard to describe. The slow bluesy pace is almost visceral and sensual with longing. The eerie melodies, mostly guitar enhanced with organ, piano, percussion and strings, can sometimes give me goosebumps, yet they remain disarmingly simple, almost a primitive folk. I find myself singing along with Taylor Kirk's hauntingly beautiful songs and strange, paradoxical lyrics:
"dreamin' every night of you, shakin' at the sight of you... And you dug me out of this shallow grave,
with your Swiss Army knife, And only you could revive me..."
Personal favorites include "Lay Down in the Tall Grass" and "I Get Low"
You won't be able to get this album out of your head.
In its own alternative world. Strange and beautiful.
"dreamin' every night of you, shakin' at the sight of you... And you dug me out of this shallow grave,
with your Swiss Army knife, And only you could revive me..."
Personal favorites include "Lay Down in the Tall Grass" and "I Get Low"
You won't be able to get this album out of your head.
In its own alternative world. Strange and beautiful.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Indie-Styled Swamp Blues
8 Mar 2011
Timber Timbre's self-titled effort is no mean feat. There are many indie music landscapes being mined for concepts today, but there aren't many artists interested in the sounds of the deep bayou. Listening to this album, one need only close their eyes to find themselves transported to the delta south, in the middle of a mangrove swamp, with the moon hanging full on the horizon and the sounds of insects as thick as the oppressive humidity.
This is an album that can require a certain mindset to get into, certainly an open mind, but it is a rewardingly unique listening experience. The themes of spirits, religion, and death hang heavily over the languid, organ-driven tracks, which never gather any kind of speed, though "We'll Find Out" rises up from the muck into a nigh-spiritual chorus of voices. "Lay Down in the Tall Grass" could've been the dark, brooding theme to "True Blood", and "I Get Low" sounds like the blues as sung by the most dejected person on the earth, lead singer Taylor Kirk crooning, "I get low, low, low, low/On my own."
What's most impressive about this eponymous album is the way band manages to formulate their sound, a muted swamp-blues and folk fusion. A lonely organ dialsup the creep factor, Kirk's plaintive, ghostly vocals appearing out of the mist, the subdued strum of a guitar drifting in from nowhere. This album marries the hot and sticky with the cold and clammy, and all throughout, Kirk drives the album forward with the delivery of an alligator drifting in the water, definitely moving forawrd, not in any apparent hurry. The end result is an album that is both surprisingly charming and a little creepy, like a ghost story that isn't real but gives you shivers just the same.
It's hard to think of many fans of indie music getting on board with this album, even with the band being on the Arts & Crafts label, but adventurous music-lovers should give these Canadian delta folk-blues a shot. This isn't just a concept album; this is a concept group, and never before has an album struck me as so geographically specific and effective, so strikingly evocative. So close your eyes and step onto the raft. The bayou is calling.
This is an album that can require a certain mindset to get into, certainly an open mind, but it is a rewardingly unique listening experience. The themes of spirits, religion, and death hang heavily over the languid, organ-driven tracks, which never gather any kind of speed, though "We'll Find Out" rises up from the muck into a nigh-spiritual chorus of voices. "Lay Down in the Tall Grass" could've been the dark, brooding theme to "True Blood", and "I Get Low" sounds like the blues as sung by the most dejected person on the earth, lead singer Taylor Kirk crooning, "I get low, low, low, low/On my own."
What's most impressive about this eponymous album is the way band manages to formulate their sound, a muted swamp-blues and folk fusion. A lonely organ dialsup the creep factor, Kirk's plaintive, ghostly vocals appearing out of the mist, the subdued strum of a guitar drifting in from nowhere. This album marries the hot and sticky with the cold and clammy, and all throughout, Kirk drives the album forward with the delivery of an alligator drifting in the water, definitely moving forawrd, not in any apparent hurry. The end result is an album that is both surprisingly charming and a little creepy, like a ghost story that isn't real but gives you shivers just the same.
It's hard to think of many fans of indie music getting on board with this album, even with the band being on the Arts & Crafts label, but adventurous music-lovers should give these Canadian delta folk-blues a shot. This isn't just a concept album; this is a concept group, and never before has an album struck me as so geographically specific and effective, so strikingly evocative. So close your eyes and step onto the raft. The bayou is calling.
Slow Paced Stunners - Fantastic album
23 May 2012
Format:Audio CD
Released in 2009 and still working its magic three years on. It's both
beautiful and disturbing, with lyrics and images that evokes a sense of
disaster and ruin. Spooky, hypnotic and strange.
If Chris Isaak went to hell after his first two albums, met up with
David Lynch for a drink and a cuban cigar, listening to a Leonard Cohen
record in the devils living room, he might have ended up sounding like
Taylor Kirk!
The music is a combination of folk, blues and country, with Kirk's rich
croon and dark, sometimes surreal lyrics at the centre of attention.
Call it whatever you want; Folk Noir, Twisted Americana or Gothic
Rockabilly Blues, it doesn't matter, there is a restrained beauty and
unsettling atmosphere to most of the songs and it's easy to understand
why a lot of people tagged this cinematic and well-suited to soundtrack
True Blood or a Lynch movie. As another reviewer stated: you could be
slow-dancing to some of them at a funeral!
Standouts: "Demon Host", "Lay Down In The Tall Grass" and "I Get Low".
In addition, the live recordings on the bonus disc are also very good,
with different arrangements from the ones on the album.
beautiful and disturbing, with lyrics and images that evokes a sense of
disaster and ruin. Spooky, hypnotic and strange.
If Chris Isaak went to hell after his first two albums, met up with
David Lynch for a drink and a cuban cigar, listening to a Leonard Cohen
record in the devils living room, he might have ended up sounding like
Taylor Kirk!
The music is a combination of folk, blues and country, with Kirk's rich
croon and dark, sometimes surreal lyrics at the centre of attention.
Call it whatever you want; Folk Noir, Twisted Americana or Gothic
Rockabilly Blues, it doesn't matter, there is a restrained beauty and
unsettling atmosphere to most of the songs and it's easy to understand
why a lot of people tagged this cinematic and well-suited to soundtrack
True Blood or a Lynch movie. As another reviewer stated: you could be
slow-dancing to some of them at a funeral!
Standouts: "Demon Host", "Lay Down In The Tall Grass" and "I Get Low".
In addition, the live recordings on the bonus disc are also very good,
with different arrangements from the ones on the album.
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