Artist: Timothy Gibb
Genre: Folk / Folk Rock / Experimental Folk / Singer-Songwriter / Pop Folk
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Folky, edgy, rhythmic, and quirky, Timothy Gibb brings to mind a moody apocalypse of bittersweet tremblings and grainy memory montages; with a crafty and unpretentious songwriting style, deliberate false endings, and shaky, emotive vocals and harmonies, Tim Gibb’s latest CD project “The Working Album” is choc-full of city-dweller folk anthems. And you can dance to it. In fact, it’s almost impossible not to bounce a little.

Singer-songwriter Timothy Gibb has been playing in the Richmond, Virginia area for the past nine years in a variety of band projects. Recently musically single, Tim went solo after starting a series of other bands in the area and churning out several CD projects along the way; including: “Mouths Needed”, “Blanket”, “Apartment”, “Ulysses”, and “The E.P.”. Along with his current, “The Working Album”, I count an album once every year-and-a-half, which I think is fair to say is both busy and prolific. This isn’t counting the “Josh Taylor and the Expatriates” LP, recorded live over a weekend with longtime musical companions Josh Taylor and Joshua Barber.

The songs freely available from the “Working” album (you can download them at http://www.ghandihead.com/coming.html) can all be described as moody, moderately paced head-bopping folk tunes; bringing to mind the fusion of disheveled (yet great) musical performances and vocal stylings and the comfortable polish of a professional. Think Beck meets Nick Drake and The Eels. These tracks, however deeply visual and nostalgic, mostly bring to mind good times, good chances, and good travels. I also have to add a special comment on the production quality of these recordings, which I think may be a nod to Timothy himself. Let’s go over a few of the singles from “The Working Album” here:

Blood Peddler:
This is the first song I had a chance to hear from Timothy Gibb. Personally, this is one of my favorite tracks off the album (that is, so far … when BandFreaks reviewers are really respected in the music world, I’m sure we’ll have promo CDs coming out of our earlobes). It starts off with a smooth mixture of strings and an acoustic guitar in a sloppy drum-less groove and then pops in with Tim’s shaky, temperamental vocals and drums and gets you nodding along all throughout the tune. Now, get this – when I say “sloppy”, let me not infer actual “slop”. Let me call the mind that kind of easy and fun to listen to, professional-type “sloppy” that’s really hard to pull off for most musicians … and believe me, there are certainly a lot of folks who try to hit this high water mark. The song takes you through a solid groove with great visual lyrics and equally strong harmonies. It’s got a lot of great stops and endings at all perfect spots, and then takes us back again, like we forgot our bag back in the groove and now we gotta’ go get it. You also get the feeling that he may have hidden away something political in this song. Well ... okay, not really that hidden, just well-done. Blood Peddler, with its simplicity and well-woven arrangements, definitely found a place in my media playlist.

Daylight Moon:
A somber track, with bright acoustics, brushes, strings and electronic sounds all throughout, takes us through a reflective mood with an awesome resolution on the chorus. A well-placed hammered upright piano picks up the changes and carries the song on the choruses against an unsettling backdrop of spooky keyboard sounds and equally unassuming vocal harmonies. Everything is well spaced and nicely put together on this track.

Tell Me:
Another one of my favorites, “Tell Me” is an awesome driving tune, and probably the most “traditional” song of the three for the folk genre. I don’t say this because of the restless harmonica, or the easy acoustic guitar throughout the song, but more for its arrangement and … well, really, its subject matter. “Tell Me” tells us the story of leaving, letting go, and moving onward against the asphalt with your back to the old city; remembering where you are and what you’ve left. Moreover – and maybe I’m reading into this a little here – but mainly it’s a song about going forward and getting on with it. And did I say “bittersweet”?

Several of Tim’s singles are available online for download (these tracks in particular). You also might want to check out buying “The Working Album”, or any of his other album projects by visiting his website, or going to the store. ~hc

- Kevin Kingman
  BandFreaks Staff Reviewer