Timber Timbre have released four studio albums before the release of Hot Dreams. The first two albums from this Canadian group, Cedar Shakes and Medicinals, are deep into the sound of very lo-fi folk/ americana music. Their self-titled 2009 album saw a drastic change in tone and overall sound. The first two albums felt like a sad man sitting around the campfire singing songs of woe on his 35 year old guitar. The 2009 release felt like a ghost whispering to you in a church. With a new found love for reverb and cinematic scale, Timber Timbre jumped into a sound that felt much more like what they wanted to produce. And if that album wasn't creepy enough, in 2011 Timber Timbre released Creep On Creepin' On. It's very rare for an album's title to match the feel and mood of the record as well as this one does. With an even bigger scale then Timber Timbre and a new found sexiness to the music, during 2011 this was one of my favorite records of the year, and since then, I've only come to enjoy the album more and more with every listen.
The 5th studio album from Timber Timbre lives up to the hype I've surrounded it in. And like Creep On Creepin' On, Hot Dreams' music and tone lives up to the name. Hot Dreams signifies for Timber Timbre a settling in with a sound. Now when I say this, I don't mean it as a bad thing. The first four records from Timber Timbre all felt like different bands were making them, even with Taylor Kirk's brooding voice front and center in all of them. From Creep On Creepin' On to Hot Dreams feels like the most natural transition from the band to date. When listening to Hot Dreams I feel like I'm listening to the band that created Creep On Creepin' On, and with this record, Timber Timbre has evolved from the weird creepy man in the shadows to the band very much like in the music video for "Hot Dreams", Timber Timbre on this record feel like those guys that play smooth music in the strip club.
From the first moments of Hot Dreams, the one word to describe the feeling is cinematic. I feel like I'm listening to the soundtrack for an 1970's horror b-movie, equal parts terror and sex. Timber Timbre have used their continually evolving love towards reverb and big sound to create A record that, even in a year of an onslaught of great releases, that will stand with the best. I highly enjoy the ever so slightly (and I do mean "ever so slightly") lighter sound with the new addition of sexiness and smoothness to the music. I also enjoy small return of an influence from folk/ americana. The evolution of Timber Timbre's sound has me listening to this record, and again, very much like after there last release, wanting to hear the next album right now. Although, that does not mean that this is a record without it's flaws. The songs on this record keep me involved for the majority, but there are points on this record where the lyricism is not as strong as Timber Timbre usually writes. Songs like "Grand Canyon" (even though I like the return to the folk/americana roots) and "Low Commotion" can for me at least begin to feel somewhat lyrically lacking. Now that being said, I enjoy both these tracks very much, and I wouldn't cut them from the record. I just feel that these songs sometimes lose my interest for little bits at a time.
Overall, I loved Hot Dreams, The continuation of their creepy sound with a new sexy flare. Although this new flare was probably my favorite thing about this album, in the end it also weirdly is my least favorite part of the record. Creep On Creepin' On was a record that was completely about the terror and creepiness of the music, and it kept me intrigued from the first second to the last. Although, this new flare makes songs like "Hot Dreams" a contender for song of the year, I keep wanting to return to Creep On Creepin' On. Maybe this is just me being a mega fanboy of their last record. Nevertheless, I love this new record. It currently sits with my favorite of the year so far. And my biggest hope for Timber Timbre is that after four great, heavily under appreciated albums, this album will make it's way into the ears of many people, and that it gets the acclaim that not only this record, but the band deserves.
8.75/10
Peaces, Godspeed, and Stay Golden
-Evan
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