Tim the Mute

'Why Live?' (album stream)

BY Alex HudsonPublished Jun 29, 2015

Vancouver songwriter Tim Clapp runs the label Kingfisher Bluez, through which he has issued some 7-inches releases as Tim the Mute (including the recent EP Mushy Peas). Yesterday (June 28), he released his debut full-length, and the whole thing is available to stream.

While Tim the Mute's past work has touched on DIY folk and scrappy pop-rock, this track ventures into slightly more polished territory. The opening title cut examines the futility of existence with drama rock theatrics, while "Don't Kill Yourself" explores similarly dark lyrical terrain with a hypnotic bass groove and fuzzy guitars, and "Rock and Roll Suicide" highlights mournful acoustic strums (and is an original tune, not a David Bowie cover).

Throughout Why Live?, much of the instrumentation is marked by quirky electronics, with tunes like "Is It Right" and "When You Get Your Face Tattoo" bearing some similarities to Belle & Sebastian's "Electric Renaissance."

Hear Why Live? below. The album is available on cassette through Lost Sound Tapes, and vinyl will follow in July through Kingfisher Bluez.

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