Artist: Tim Darcy
Album: “Saturday Night”
Label: Jagjaguwar
Format Reviewed: Digital Advance
Lyrics of Note:
All the questions are being asked
Like, is it fatal or is it popsicle?
Is it rain or is it toxic fire?
Is it love or is it desire?
Ought frontman Tim Darcy’s first solo album, “Saturday Night,” is stripped down and chiseled from the musical components of a singer/songwriter past, one that many performers have abandoned for the modern flair and slickness of the glossy technical advances of today. The album is a comfortable listen from start to finish, a sort of favorite chair for your mind, and harkens back to the days before the studio process went digital, when the beautiful imperfections of music made them perfect.
Darcy’s writing places you in a vacuum of emotion thanks in large part to his haunting vocals, which at times, feels as if he has become the entirety of The Traveling Wilburys, able to capture the essence of Dylan, Orbison, Harrison, Petty and Lynne all in one incredibly moving range of tone and articulation. As a passenger, you’re riding the duration of the album as if riding inside the log of an amusement park flume, enjoying the peace and tranquility of the quiet moments, and reveling in the excitement of the ascents and drops. “Saturday Night” is not only worth its namesake, but the remainder of your nights as well.
