Post Description

Op Verzoek.

With a cold gust of wind and the sharp crack of a branch, every hair on the back of your neck stand to attention. You know no one is there and the warmth of your sleeping bag and the ever fading glow of the fire provides more than enough shelter, but you are still left slightly unnerved. That's the feeling I get when I listen to Timbre Timber.

 On the surface, the band appears to be a folk outfit, rich in psychedelics, but as you strip away some of instrumentation and swirls, you are hit with the demons and soul of an old bluesman and the combination makes for an interesting listen. Medicinals opens with a psychedelic instrumental intro, and I assumed the record would follow suit, but lots of songs expose an older, Southern grit.

 Admittedly, Taylor Kirk relies on the gentle strums of an acoustic as opposed to the frantic strums and slide work that often define the genre, but his songs are heavy in the traditional imagery. Tales of the night and the devil mix in with the folk textures nicely and force you to look inside yourself at your own ghosts. There is a Cure uses some distorted horns, a finger snap and some woah oh oh woahs, but manages to convey emotion and a strange amount of force that contrast the freak-folk vocals Kirk uses on the opening verse.

 Like a Mountain follows suit, and is the most enjoyable track on the record. It only takes 2:25 for Kirk to completely hook you with some gentle claps and an accordion and a piercing clarinet. He doesn't crowd the mix, and the sounds have the freedom to roam. As a result, the songs expose a fragility that doesn't usually surface in swampy blues numbers, and creates a more intimate experience for the listener.

 You get to hear the echoes, the creaks and the squeaks and the result makes the tracks seem to cover a distance you can never cross. You get hit with a wave of desolation, and even his ambitious take on Twist and Shout that grabs your attention Oh Messiah strips away the carefree whimsy of the original and replaces it with a painful chaos that torments the lead singer.

 This record is one that you really should take a chance with. With each listen, Kirk sinks his claws deeper into you and forces you to rethink they way you interpret his songs.


Canada
Folk
Label: Zunior


1. Window Talk (0:48)
2. There Is a Cure (4:32)
3. Devil's Dress (3:48)
4. Like a Mountain (2:25)
5. Beat the Dead Horse (4:52)
6. Under Your Spell (3:26)
7. It Comes Back to Haunt Us (3:32)
8. Werewolf (2:29)
9. Oh Messiah (2:44)
10. Patron Saint Hunter (3:26)