Tim Hindmon – A Musician
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/album/15P5v3IIGrZKJytlH7ulJq
Windy City based Tim Hindmon’s new single “A Musician” available through CDBaby’s website, is a live performance captured with impressive sound quality. The songwriting subject matter is certainly familiar to longtime music listeners, the romance and vagaries of a musician’s life, but Hindmon brings the topic to life with a signature style that doesn’t immediately recall other writers/performers. It definitely has a strong country music influence, but you can hear roots rock running through this song as well, but never in a stereotypical or overly familiar way. There’s a level of catchiness you hear with the track, however, recalling pop music without ever exhibiting a hint of pandering to a shallow musical audience. It’s upbeat, likeable, has genuine gravitas, and a fine vocal with accompanying lyric is the track’s crowning glory. “A Musician” comes across as a great song and excellent introduction to Hindmon’s music.
The melodic bell-clarity of his voice and the immediate bounce in the music pulls you in quick. Hindmon sings with earnestness about his experiences as a musician and his reflections on the art never risk heavy handed clichés – they are understated, instead, and obviously draw deeply from his everyday life. The song’s drumming has a biting snap and keeps things moving at an urgent pace without ever hurrying the performance. Hindmon has a great live mix for this track, no mean feat to achieve, and it helps give a warm fullness to the musical attack many modern live recordings, particularly from the indie world, inexplicably lack.
Hindmon’s guitar work is more than serviceable. It creates a near vocal counterpoint for his singing, purring along through the song’s verses, and matching his singing intensity during the chorus. It’s a far from oppressive guitar sound, as well – instead, the recording’s mix once again stands out as each of the instruments complements one another sonic stature rather than favoring one element above all. The chorus is definitely one of the song’s high points, if not its peak, and amplifies emotion and music in equal measure. Such moments should put an exclamation point on a performance and the chorus for “A Musician” fits the bill.
The song’s structure is undeniable as well. Hindmon definitely hits his marks for the sort of fare he’s serving up, but it has an added inspired spike separating it from the commonplace. It doesn’t require grandiose musical dramatics; in fact, the uncluttered approach of the arrangement gives it a lift it would otherwise lack in a more self-indulgent song. Tim Hindmon’s single “A Musician” may remind you of certain tunes you’ve heard before, but you’ll come away convinced by the individuality of this voice and that his take on the subject can stand alongside earlier, more renowned efforts. Let’s hope we hear more songwriting with this quality from Hindmon in the near future and the recording makes it clear he’s a must see live event for anyone valuing Americana or roots influenced music.
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/timhindmon61?lang=en
Mindy McCall
