Tim Hort – Famine (Album Review)

The renowned US singer-songwriter returns with a rich collection of delicately haunting tracks that are sure to enchant listeners, young and old.

The success of Chicago-hailing musician Tim Hort stems from his numerous musical talents as well as his previous involvement with several industry big names in his illustrious career. Having gained widespread recognition for performing with the band The Radio Hour, his solo endeavours and his work as a live musician and publisher, Hort’s experience is varied and allows him the ability to generate flawlessly produced music brimming with heart and soul.

His new solo album ‘Famine’ delights with the artist’s alternative sound that bounces back and forth between rock, folk, country and many more genre influences. This time, he collaborates with prominent music producer and mixing engineer Doug McBride, who has worked previously with a whole host of superstar artists such as Fall Out Boy, to craft an album that feels wholly sensitive and evocative in its simplistic beauty.

Listeners are introduced to the album through ‘July Island’, which is a slow burn folk-rock ballad that progresses from soft keyboard notes and tentative guitar strums to Holt’s building vocals, which echo with a serene wistfulness that lends the track a wondrously introspective tone. As the lilting notes of an acoustic guitar mirror Holt’s melodic hums, the track soon builds with the help of mid-tempo drums and an electric guitar accompaniment, which pleasingly melds with Holt’s melancholy vocals. While the song never ventures out of its steady beat and soothing alt-rock style, the music exudes a deeply soulful ambience through its winding melodies and the singer’s powerfully moving voice.

The lulling of an electric guitar sets a dreamy scene for the haunting vocal performance that greets audiences in the second track, ‘Dissolve’. The combination of an electronic drum track, gentle guitars and Hort’s mournful vocal performance is expertly orchestrated to create an affectingly solemn soundscape that will leave listeners undoubtably enthralled. Lyrically, Hort howls of loss and hopelessness like a broken man; the low-key instrumental allows his expressive vocal calls to ring out with a startling resonance that is immediately arresting and heart-wrenching.

A lone piano melody serenades audiences at the beginning of ‘From the End of the Earth’ as listeners are drawn gently into this tender folk-rock song. The delicate ambience that is crafted throughout the track is sincerely moving; the singer’s sombre vocals paired with the song’s muted percussion and piano cords surrounding listeners like a powerfully meditative lullaby.

‘Chain and Sky’ drifts in calmly on the soft strokes of an acoustic guitar that is soon joined by Holt’s poignant croons that resonate with the musician’s captivating ‘dark Americana’ style, which also seems to incorporate an alternative folk-rock edge through the rawness of Holt’s vocals. The lyrics detail the regrets over losing someone and are tinted with self-loathing (“The only thing I see are devils, I’m wondering why I lost you…”); the singer’s reminiscences lent weight through the song’s simple but stunning composition.

The minute and a half instrumental track ‘491’ is another jewel in this album’s collaboration between Tim Holt and Doug McBride; its dainty acoustic guitar melody enchanting audiences with its somehow nostalgic charm, and providing a pleasant bridge into the dynamic ‘Seems Right’.

The bouncy tempo of ‘Seems Right’ sets an uplifting tone to the track as drums, bass and guitars groove in unison even though Hort’s lyrics sound as cynical and accusing as ever (“Here’s to the killing sky, Those proudly beaten blue eyes”). The singer’s voice as always is threaded with emotion and intent as Hort strips listeners down through the undiluted passion that makes up such a massive part of his vocal style. The fading notes of the piano mark the end of the track as well as the beginning of a tonal shift that takes audiences from an upbeat high to an introspectively fragile calm.

This is in preparation for the last track on the album, ‘Spies in the House’, which may well showcase Hort at his most emotionally vulnerable and uninhibited. Amidst sweet guitar chords, the artist’s voice soars with a grace and beauty that will easily captivate listeners on their first listen through. The lyrics are bittersweet yet with an undertone of hope (“If I see you again, I will tell you something”), giving the acoustic ballad a powerful gravity that is as beautifully crafted as it is mesmeric to hear.

Score/Excellent: Tim Hort lays all his cards on the table in this symphony of delicately sung acoustic hits, upbeat alt-rock jams and soulful folk-rock tracks – all of which succeed in capturing the hearts and thoughts of listeners. ‘Famine’ proves you can count on the multitalented Hort to deliver powerhouse vocal performances, emotionally driven genre-bending compositions and poignant lyrics in abundance.

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