Hot Dreams
31 March 2014
Arts & Crafts
3.5 stars out of 5
“You turned me on, then you turned on me,” and other spooky
tales, as told by Taylor Kirk and company on their fifth LP, Hot Dreams. At times like Leonard Cohen
with singing lessons (“Beat the Drum Slowly”), at others like a less dark Bill
Callahan (“Hot Dreams”), Ontario’s Timber Timbre (there’s gotta be a Tim
Hortons joke in there somewhere) play a highly theatrical brand of artsy
country folk, almost bordering on kitsch at times (“Bring Me Simple Men” and
“Run from Me”).
“This Low Commotion” is one of the album’s highlights, for
both its theatricality and its pure pun power. It’s a slow retro-country grind
that could perhaps find itself at home on a David Lynch film’s soundtrack—such
is its cinematic and Badalamenti-esque nature. If The Cure ever wrote a song in
Timber Timbre’s chosen genre, it might sound something like “The Three
Sisters,” a gorgeous instrumental mood piece that would be completely at home
on a re-recorded Faith or Seventeen Seconds. It’s the best track
on Hot Dreams—perhaps because it
contains the fewest cubic centimetres of kitsch. Don’t be surprised if it shows
up on a movie soundtrack or three within the next couple of years.
It’s difficult to take Timber Timbre seriously at times
(this is the same band that named an album Creep
On Creepin’ On, after all), though the simple act of having a sense of
humour generally shouldn’t count against anyone. There are some nice things
happening on Hot Dreams, and while a lot
of said things might seem like carefully-constructed jokes, they are very
pretty and listenable jokes nonetheless.
reviewed by Richard Krueger
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