Tim Barry – Machester

In today’s music industry we’re often trying to find the next big thing. The next amalgamation of styles and genres to create something new and vivid. We’re looking for the new rebellion, the new sound to characterize our generation. Unfortunately, most of the things that have come out of that search has been a sad disgrace to music. It’s because of that that records like this one are so refreshing. It’s not because it’s new and unique, far from it. Instead, Tim Barry, like so many others have been doing of late. has decided to reverse the train so to speak. Rather than trying to find that brand new style, Barry has stepped back in time for a more traditional sound. A simple sound of a man, his guitar and some friends along the way.

At the centre of every song is Barry and his guitar but only one song remains solely that. The others pull in guest spots from friends and family to make the album feel more like a celebration than a performance.On and On flows with some soft horns, South Hill has Barry attacking his six string like he did on Dog Bumped but is rounded off by some delicately placed violin. He once again calls on his wife for the violin in Ronnie Song where he leaves the guitar alone and instead uses a piano, organ and aforementioned violin to craft the soulful melody. On CRF, all his friends combine for a sound similar to a slightly less chaoticGogol Bordello and Sagacity Gone has a distinctive country twang to it. Tacoma and Tile Work lean towards Barry‘s folk influences and even pulls out a mandolin on the later.

On Manchester, he has delivered twelve songs that seem more restrained and controlled than that of Rivanna Junction. On Rivanna Junction he seemed angry and mad where as Manchester is a much more somber with a reflective and introspective feel to it. He still has a sense of anger and resentment in some of his stories, Texas Cops and Tacoma are both filled with bitter and defiant words; but for the most partBarry has calmed down and taken a step back. So instead of a man singing about protecting his sister from an abusive husband you get a man questioning life (On and On). He debates the finite qualities of life on Sagacity Gone and remembers fallen friends on Ronnie Song – a touching tribute and a moving song that remains the cornerstone of the album in my opinion. South Hill and 5 Twenty 5 touches on current events that everyone can relate to: a story of an injured soldier and the downfall of the economy respectfully. Despite all that, Barry still ends the album with a sense of hope through Raised and Grown during which he says “Yeah, i’ve seen a lot but I ain’t seen it all” before he defiantly proclaims “I will not give up.” It’s a circular album that takes the listener through stages of questioning, understanding and defiance; a feat which transforms the album into a complete package that doesn’t count on the creation of something new but on the welcoming embrace of a formula tried and true.