Live: Timber Timbre @ Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar, Brighton 01/09/2011

This week I’ve been rushed off my feet with gigs to go to; Mike Heron of The Incredible String band in London on Monday, Other Lives in the same city on Tuesday, and now Timber Timbre on Thursday night in Brighton. The mood the latter was fittingly the lowest, the low light levels, as if by candle light, really complementing the kind of haunted and dated blues-based mood which the Canadian three piece have mastered across recent works. 

I entered (late) to ‘Black Water’ from 2011’s Polaris Prize nominated LP “Creepin’ On Creepin’ On”. Positioned what I was told was around three songs in, the refreshingly lazy blues anthem revealed itself as the night progressed to be the tempo high point. Taylor Kirk’s vocals are incredibly distinctive if a little limited, but despite giving the music a wonderfully defining double layered texture, didn’t substantially develop into anything captivating or emotive. But aside from holding the attention of a blues half-enthusiast, why should they? No dynamic should come at the cost of honesty and conviction - and that there was, undoubtedly.

The show’s arrangement essentially was as the album title described it - ‘creeping on’ slowly with very little development outside of classic song-writing structures. Perhaps a little more courage, or a few more instrumentalists (though not to detract from my praise to the excellent pedal sounds and screeching violins) might have made it a little more memorable to the newcomer. Timber Timbre certainly do have one of the most pleasant blues skeletons around in order to work with, if only garnishing it as such was more their style. By the end of the show, it became clear that the performance was intended to be a little stark and understated, such is the nature of down-tempo blues music, that it drags its grandiose feet a little.

Timber Timbre - Black Water (MP3)