Timonium - Until He Finds Us
(Pehr)
Timonium's dark, spare sound has drawn comparisons in the past to slowcore bands like Low and Codeine, but for me, the first band that comes to mind is Slowdive. Two guitars, bass, and drums ring out below mopey male/female shared vocals, sometimes singing together in octaves and other times alternating in a gentle call-and-response. Every sound is washed in warm, forgiving reverb. The band's capably minimal approach is always tasteful, if not always exciting. The drummer's sense of restraint and release is especially important to Timonium's aesthetic. He frequently drops out entirely, giving guitars room to breathe on their own. When he does play, he favors the toms and kick, saving the cymbals for passages that require extra oomph. My only real complaint is with the lyrical content; lines like "I was trying to sing along but the words just came out wrong" come across sounding a bit trite, especially when they are sung with such gloomy affect. I would like to hear the band losing their cool more often, as on the outro to "Red Pawn." Here a quiet thudding rhythm gives way to a startling series of explosions, crashing slowly and loudly like towering waves against rocky cliffs.
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