"First you turned me on, then you turned on me"
Hot Dreams released 03.31.14 on Arts & Crafts / Timber Timbre = Elvis Presley + Dirty Beaches
Taylor Kirk of Timber Timbre has a devilish croon that can make Halloween seem like the most romantic holiday of the year, but his band’s third album finds their inimitable style becoming more aggressive and musically complex. The obsessive-romantic sway from 2011’s Creep on Creepin’ On is all but gone from Hot Dreams, save bits and pieces on the title track. While "Hot Dreams" is a standout track, it's not representative of where this album eventually lands. Timber Timbre gradually wanders from the night lounge balladry of "Hot Dreams" to the western, space-blues of “Grand Canyon” – a song that sits you on your grandfather's lap for a perplexing tale of hot summer memories. "Grand Canyon" has an unnerving simplicity, relying mostly on a guitar and mellotron, as Kirk's voice unfurls a death wish.
Hot Dreams (recorded in Laurel Canyon) is primarily an exploration in Western ballads, and the band's darker tropes turn their western musings into something uniquely their own. I often feel like I'm getting the experience of film, novels, and music in one with Timbre Timbre, which is to say that Kirk is a story-teller first and a musician second.
While Hot Dreams is well-worth diving into, I still believe the best is yet to come from this Canadian four-piece. Eventually, some personal experience or current issue is going to strike a chord with them, and they'll create an album that feels just as purposeful as it does artistic. Enter: Sincerely, Future Pollution ~