Tim Barry Rivanna Junction Label: Suburban Home Release Date:11/21/2006

Tim Barry, front man for hardcore band Avail from Virginia’s very own Richmond, city of great bands, has put out a solo album that is definitely not “hardcore”, in the musical sense of the word. I’ve never listened to Avail’s stuff, so no comment, but Barry’s first solo album runs the gamut from damn good punk singer-guitar strumming musing and story-telling to drunken bar stompers to a country-tinged ensemble piece or two. There are almost as many different styles as songs on the album, but it somehow coheres into a fully-realized statement of Tim Barry.

The track that most struck me is “Avoiding Catatonic Surrender” reminding me of drunk nights trading songs back and forth, jamming a little bit, and the easy enjoyment of hanging out with good friends. It’s full of random, alcohol-hazed philosophy and self-depricating nostalgia that reveals my friend’s loneliness to me, and reminds me of just why I like the motherfucker in the first place. It’s a perfect example of that simple kind of rough honesty that cements people together in a shared experience of life. Barry is just kinda going off, in his sloppy punk-country guitar and cigarette-roughened voice, until the violin underscores his ranting with the depth of a lifetime’s worth of mistakes and slow wisdom.

My other favorite is “Church of Level Track.” On the surface it sketches out a black and white portrait of a drifter catching a train south with a friend, on the run or just heading out for a new start. But it’s infused with a subtle spirituality, a sunset calm full-blown into a transcendent zen peace and hope for something better at the other end of the track This too has a solitary instrumental voice unselfishly lending itself to emphasize the spirit of the song more than the words, a hilltop trumpet calmly stating it’s own version of Taps to herald in the end of the day.

I didn’t expect to like this album, and it was an unexpected surprise that this guy could write songs deep enough to overcome my lagging interest in musicians practicing basic songwriting. …Junction is heartfelt and lived in enough to offer a lively and sometimes poignant window into a Virginia native’s heart.

Tim Barry - Church of Level Track

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 21st, 2006 at 5:42 pm and is filed under CD/LP. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.