Timber Timbre by Timber Timbre
LABEL: Arts & Crafts

Timber Timbre's self-titled album is eerily beautiful—a frighteningly dark take on American folk and blues. The tracks tend to start rather simply, perhaps with just a bass and electric organ. Yet, there is an innate organic power behind the instrumentation as the songs evolve into a rich tapestry of haunting vocals and deep, heavy grooves. "Timbre" is clearly an apt name for the band because of the close attention to detail and quality of its sound. The album introduces folk to a mysterious brand of electric tonality which absorbs the listener into a reverie.

I'm reluctant to even classify the music as blues because it is so unlike the 12-bar patterns which influences it. Although Timber Timbre contains the same lamentation as conventional blues, the tradition is continued in a spectacularly original way. The album begins with a sorrowful acoustic guitar and continues to captivate the listener as it explores countless melancholic harmonies. I couldn't help but be reminded of The Animals rendition of of "The House of the Rising Sun" except for the vaguely psychedelic sound throughout the tracks.

There is an unflinching focus on creating a lethargic, yet memorable ambiance. Simple yet elegant, each instrument is rather understated but they coalesce into something truly magnificent and if you let it, this album will send a shiver up your spine.

REVIEWED BY BRANDON McKINNEY