Timber Timbre

Timber Timbre | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 28, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Arts & Crafts
• ASIN: B002AF4XUG
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,347 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2009 release from Canadian singer/songwriter Taylor Kirk (AKA Timber Timbre). Kirk is another worldly soul, creating stirring, haunting songs that evoke imagery both dark and stunning and has earned a reputation as a spellbinding and dynamic performer. Over the course of two previous records (2006's Cedar Shakes and 2007's Medicinals), and spellbinding performances in support of Great Lake Swimmers and Ohbijou, Kirk has earned a devout following. Kirk describes his music as 'Gothic Rockabilly Blues' and Timber Timbre documents a rapid progression from dusty, lo-fi bedroom Blues to the more sophisticated, cinematic studio work that still possess the grainy, rustic feel epitomized as a sound all his own. Timber Timbre album was recorded in Kirk's home studio and the finishing touches were added at the Lincoln County Social Club with producer Chris Stringer (Ohbijou, The Coast, Rush). EMI.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazingly different, August 6, 2010

By 

ilexberry (SAN ANTONIO, TX, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Timber Timbre (MP3 Download)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Indie-Styled Swamp Blues, March 8, 2011

By 

J. Leard (Waterloo, IA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Timber Timbre (MP3 Download)

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.

5.0 out of 5 stars Well, Magic Arrow is great!, December 1, 2011

By 

B. Kline (Palo Alto, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Timber Timbre (MP3 Download)

I am not to up on the theme and symbolism and stuff of what is generic throwaway popular music these days that just keeps getting weirder and weirder ... well, at least to me.

I heard the song "Magic Arrow" on an episode of "Breaking Bad" and I kept humming the tune for days. That is what I like and expect for popular music, something that is interesting, newish and fresh. It's good, so I got it. It seems very modal and simplistic, but very rhythmic ... anyway, who knows or can explain ... it's a cool song, I just like it.