Timber Timbre Not Evil, Just Dramatic

From what you've read or heard, you probably know by now that Polaris Music Prize long lister (should have made the short list!), Taylor Kirk — a.k.a. Timber Timbre — is a pretty creepy guy.

In real life, in the studio or on stage, the man's world is like an ever-lasting film noir. Yet despite his bizarre reputation, there always seems to be a glimmer of light or humour behind that haunted voice.

Take Kirk's favourite movies for instance: The Night Of The Hunter with Robert Mitchum, Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo and... Teen Wolf?

"Yes, I am a strange man," Kirk admitted. "I'm not a werewolf, though. I mean, I'm bald.

"I think [have a mysterious reputation] is a good thing," he adds. "So little is left to the imagination with people constantly documenting and uploading their entire lives onto digital shrines.

"It seems every time we play a show, someone will take the liberty of videotaping and posting the set on YouTube. Or take 30 photographs and post them all on Flickr. I'm not really trying to be mysterious; I just prefer to be more thoughtful about how I present things."

Three albums in, that thoughtfulness is paying off. Timber Timbre's new self-titled album has created a hurricane of music genre pin-pointing by music critics. "Death country," "gothic folk" and "ghost soul" are a few of the tags that have been thrown his way.

After listening to the deliciously dark eight-track album, you'll probably have fun trying to name the sound yourself. It's a pretty straightforward game when left up to the man himself.

"I guess people who talk about music in a very serious way will come up with terms like 'freak folk' or 'death country,' which might be helpful descriptors for some people," Kirk elaborates. "I usually stick to the basics. I refer to what I'm doing as folk or country music. Roots music.

"They are dark songs. I don't think of them as evil, but certainly dramatic," he continues. "On some of the songs I feel like I came awfully close to campiness, which is not really something I'm into.

"But I think it's more meaningful when we come across a beautiful moment or a major lift in songs that are otherwise dark and minor. I like that dynamic."

Timber Timbre's spooky caravan are touring Canada right now, we highly recommend you see them live on these dates:

July 25, Guelph, ON @ Guelph Lake Island (Hillside Festival)
Aug. 2 Sackville, NB @ Vogue Theatre (SappyFest)
Sept. 24 Victoria, BC @ Alix Goolden Performance Hall at Victoria Conservatory Of Music (Rifflandia Music Festival) w/Final Fantasy
Sept. 25 Vancouver, BC @ St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church w/Final Fantasy
Sept. 27 Edmonton, AB @ McDougall United Church w/Final Fantasy
Sept. 28 Calgary, AB @ Knox United Church w/Final Fantasy
Sept. 30 Regina, SK @ The Exchange w/Final Fantasy
Oct. 1 Saskatoon, SK @ Amigos Cantina w/Final Fantasy
Oct. 2 Winnipeg, MB @ West End Cultural Centre w/Final Fantasy