Timbering on country death rock?

Taylor Kirk’s music carries a superstitious twang

Timber Timbre will come through town for Apple Crisp’s March Break Maddness.
Image supplied by: Supplied
Timber Timbre will come through town for Apple Crisp’s March Break Maddness.

Harrowing country death rock isn’t the most frequently applied genre label—it doesn’t return any Google hits—but when it comes to Taylor Kirk’s project Timber Timbre, the blogosphere is littered with labels like it. Kirk quickly sheds the rock misnomer, and his band is a far cry from contemporary country. The music does have a rural feel though, and fixates on death imagery in a harrowing way.  Maybe the rock writers aren’t so wrong after all, with their long-winded genre descriptions and fawning invocations of ghosts and cabins. To join their ranks, I’ll say Timber Timbre conjures images of grisly grim reapers lurking outside broken down shacks in rural Ontario. Such description sounds laughable, but after a listen it’s proved a little laudable.

 Kirk said he’s a very spiritual and superstitious person, and the latter is certainly reflected in his work. There’s a heavy use of eerie allegorical metaphors, and the musical style is influenced by a folk and blues tradition. When I mentioned that many tracks seem as though they could be passed down from musician to musician such as the Timber Timbre-referenced “House of the Rising Sun,” he seemed pleased.

 “That’s really nice to hear. I always think of Timber Timbre music as being a successful combination of luck and a few other intangible qualities, more so than musicianship or strong songwriting. But I like this idea.”

There is something intangible, even ethereal, about Timber Timbre, a band held up by an appreciation of past conventions and new sensibilities.  Kirk’s music indicates an ear for a fresh clash of eras. But this commitment to the marriage of something old and something new is a recent development.  In his college days Kirk performed with an old school rock ’n roll band, The Black Napkins. But Kirk didn’t start leaving listeners with sore hands from trying to box him in until he released Cedar Shakes, the first Timber Timbre record, in 2006.  It was largely a one man effort, as was 2007’s The Medicinals.  After collaborating on the self-titled album which dropped in January of this year on the Toronto-based label Out of This Spark, Kirk says he doesn’t want to work alone again.

 “It was a relief to have other contributors […] Mika [Posen, of Forest City Lovers] came in and literally completed the songs with her string parts. Same with the Bruce Peninsula singers. Engineer Chris Stringer added some banjo and piano parts too,” he said. “It was really nice. I don’t think I’ll be cutting any more records on my own.”

The community effort resulted in a more complex record with higher production quality. This should come as no surprise, seeing as Stringer is known for his work with groups from Rush to Ohbijou. Timber Timbre toured with the latter, and experienced a subsequent surge in popularity, in the wake of fawning reviews from Exclaim!, NOW and the Globe and Mail, Kirk is still being described as elusive, but he takes issue with this description because of his frequent public appearances.

 “I feel like I’m playing live all the time. Maybe it’s just that I am getting to be more particular about the kinds of places I play.”

Perhaps that’s why his Kingston gig is on a Tuesday night at The Artel instead of Friday at The Grad Club. The percussive potential of clinking pint glasses isn’t needed.

 “Atmosphere is very important. … I’m realizing that my songs aren’t the sort that make sense in every context. It seems we require a very particular type of crowd and venue to successfully make the music work.”

 Given the arresting lyrical imagery, it’s likely any crowd would hush. Underneath the folk and blues tone, Kirk’s quiet contemplation of diggings, demons and séances creates an unsettling atmosphere.

 “I think because I am making soft, quiet music, I will exploit violent and dark imagery to make an impact with my storytelling.”

 The violent imagery and the romanticized rural style means the music can appeal to both the hipper-than-thou and the earnest. Kirk’s cross-over appeal has been recognized by comparisons to other musicians with similarly divergent demographic trends.

 “I’ve had people compare what I’m doing to people like Tom Waits and Devendra Banhart. I’ve always felt that with those particular artists, their huge personalities, personas, are overshadowing what they’re doing musically and I find this a bit distracting in a negative way.”

 The image of Timber Timbre, or lack thereof, is part of the art. Imposing a personality narrative would only take away from the musical experience which should have enough personality on its own, Kirk said.  He strives for his music to stand alone and steers toward starkness in the art itself. Timber Timbre has been described as Southern Gothic folk music, in the minimalist tradition of Southern Gothic writers such as Faulkner.

“I was very into Faulkner’s writing; not only his subject matter but his vague yet romantic descriptions and fragmented narratives,” Kirk said. “I relate to his broken style of storytelling. I struggle a lot with lyrics so I often latch onto authors that have an impact this way.”

Lyrics do often lurch into a broken, stream-of-consciousness style, and focus more on invoking imagery than making sense. Listening to the record on repeat had led images of contented corpses to dance in my head, but Kirk said he doesn’t see his muse as menacing.

 “I don’t think of it as sinister, but I like the idea of working quietly in the dark. I think it allows for a more dynamic range. A loud moment or a beautiful flourish is more dramatic and meaningful if it’s coming from the silent depths of hell. You know what I’m saying?”

Timber Timbre plays Tuesday March 17 at The Artel with The House Is Black. The concert is free.

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