The
Whitlams' new album is everything it should be. Ever since the landmark
'Eternal Nightcap' Tim Freedman has been dicking around. Whether
he knows it or not, with 'Little Cloud' he's come to his senses,
giving up what we want to hear. Him. It's all understandable if
you put yourself in Tim's shoes. 'Eternal Nightcap.' His mate had
died. He was left with a group they shared. Should he break up the
band? He let the songs he was writing do his talking. Who was he
to know that the introspective, melancholy stuff that was coming
out would resonate so much with the outside world, how much they
related to the man at the piano in live shows, storytelling in song
and between songs as if he was entertaining at home? From Tim's
point of view he was still in a band. Next came a studio album.
Too sterile. Then a band album. Too unfocussed. Now Tim Freedman
is back. This album - two albums in fact - is Tim Freedman. His
songs. His voice. His stories. The 'Little Cloud' part of the album
are the songs he wrote second, coming back from a reenergizing trip
to New York. Part two 'The Apple's Eye' (overall the better songs)
are the New York songs, the songs that burst forth when Tim thought
he was suffering a writers' block. We're treated to Tim Freedman,
baring his sardonic soul, playing word games, being the clever witty
songwriter. He has the ideal partner in crime in producer J.Walker
of Machine Translations. Exactly the atmosphere Tim Freedman's songs
should live it. Never a dull moment, but with the spotlight firmly
on the man at the piano.
The
Whitlams' new album is everything it should be. Ever since the landmark
'Eternal Nightcap' Tim Freedman has been dicking around. Whether
he knows it or not, with 'Little Cloud' he's come to his senses,
giving up what we want to hear. Him. It's all understandable if
you put yourself in Tim's shoes. 'Eternal Nightcap.' His mate had
died. He was left with a group they shared. Should he break up the
band? He let the songs he was writing do his talking. Who was he
to know that the introspective, melancholy stuff that was coming
out would resonate so much with the outside world, how much they
related to the man at the piano in live shows, storytelling in song
and between songs as if he was entertaining at home? From Tim's
point of view he was still in a band. Next came a studio album.
Too sterile. Then a band album. Too unfocussed. Now Tim Freedman
is back. This album - two albums in fact - is Tim Freedman. His
songs. His voice. His stories. The 'Little Cloud' part of the album
are the songs he wrote second, coming back from a reenergizing trip
to New York. Part two 'The Apple's Eye' (overall the better songs)
are the New York songs, the songs that burst forth when Tim thought
he was suffering a writers' block. We're treated to Tim Freedman,
baring his sardonic soul, playing word games, being the clever witty
songwriter. He has the ideal partner in crime in producer J.Walker
of Machine Translations. Exactly the atmosphere Tim Freedman's songs
should live it. Never a dull moment, but with the spotlight firmly
on the man at the piano.