Tim Baker
Forever Overhead
Arts & Crafts
Tim Bakers Forever Overhead is a step away from Hey Rosetta!, on indefinite hiatus since 2017, but fear not, Forever Overhead is still unequivocally Tim Baker. His lyrical nuances and wonderful knack for putting together a great song carry over to his first solo project and put on display why he’s such a great musician. These 11 tracks are everything he contributed to to success of his previous work, and maybe a look at where he may take his songwriting in the future.
While recorded in the fall of 2017, Tim decided that he needed a little more time with the 13 songs he recorded and set out on the road to work them in. He partnered with Side Door, a company that partners artists with venues, and embarked on 20 intimate performances in some very unique locations. Ski lodges, a hotel room, and book stores were among a few of the locations and after realizing that he needed more cohesion, wrote a few more songs, and went back into the recording studio.
The result is a a record that aptly reflects his new mindset and has a fresh take on his songwriting that you can hear in each song. Tim says ““I felt free from the body of work I’d created with Hey Rosetta!, the expectations people had of us, and what we expected of ourselves and I suppose you can hear that freedom, almost a lightness in the record.”
The title track “Dance” is a mellow, piano-driven opening that picks up about half way through with some interesting, and unexpected instrumentation, and plants the flag of what to expect of his new work. “All Hands” and “Hideway” are more up tempo and I hear subtle callbacks to Paul Simon’s vocal lines that are aptly fit with Tim’s songwriting style. Songs like “Spirit” and “Strange River” builds from a quiet opening to a wave of music while other songs like “The Sound of the Machines” maintain a quiet and reverential mood.
The final track, “Don’t Let Me Go”, encompasses all the albums elements and is described as being “dropped into a party that’s already in full swing.” Luckily we were all invited, and besides Tim being there, he invited some of his friends and contemporaries to lend a hand to the sound of the album. Included on the album are musicians Liam O’Neill on drums, Mishka Stein on bass, Ben Whiteley, Joe Grass, and backing vocals from Laurel Sprengelmeyer, Erika Angell, Kat Karberg, and Lisa Iwanycki-Moore.
I would put Forever Overhead on the list of must have albums this year. You can purchase the album everywhere but, I would encourage you to get to his website and check out the various physical bundles that he has available.
