Music / Canada
Review: Timber Timbre, Thekla
A quirky boat, a lot of darkness, a fog-coated stage and some spooky lights: these are the elements needed to create the perfect eerie atmosphere for the Canadian band Timber Timbre. The music does the rest to take the audience on a journey to a parallel universe of apocalyptic dimensions. The crowd is engulfed in this bubble of mysterious gloom as soon as the first note starts.
The band starts with Sincerely, Future Pollution, a song from their new album of the same name. The guitar bawls intermittently over a base of trippy electronic sounds. Some technical problems can be heard during the first few songs but the issue is quickly resolved. Taylor Kirk’s baritone voice and the way he recites his poetic (although obtuse) lyrics makes it almost sound like spoken-word. In the darkness and the anger of the lyrics, playfulness can still be found. Unfortunately, it is for the most part difficult to perceive Kirk’s words (maybe intentionally) so their poetic and engaging aspects get sadly unnoticed.
This awkward mix of synths, drum machines, funky bass, blasting guitars and dark-humoured lyrics surprisingly works. The result navigates between Pink-Floydian prog, Bowie-style funky beats and 80s instrumentation. Western Questions shows a very interesting blend of tempo and music styles and Bleue Nuit is an almost entirely instrumental piece, beautiful and dreamy. The band also plays Magic Arrow, which has featured in the series Breaking Bad and The Good Wife. The set, strategically punctuated by mesmerising saxophone tenor, finishes with Woman, starting with menacing bass and then increasing gradually in intensity until the big finale of guitars and drums explosion.
is needed now More than ever
Timber Timbre takes the crowd on an introspective journey with musical chops and remarkable cohesion. Their music mainly draws on the 80s but it also weirdly belongs to our time. Their performance is not only a gig but a proper show, reminiscent of 60s psychedelia. This is the type of band you have to see live, even if they’re not initially your cuppa tea.
Read more: Review: Afriquoi, The Fleece
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