‘Rebound’ – Timothy Jaromir: Storytelling At Its Finest With This New Folk Ballad
Timothy Jaromir has just released something very special. ‘Rebound’ represents the best collaborative female/male vocal I’ve heard since Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan on ‘Hawk.’ Everything else I add from this point on is pertinent, but just ‘gilding the lily.’ So, you can either read on or watch the live YouTube performance or download the song from his Bandcamp site. Don’t stream it, you cheap bastards. You want this. You need this and above all else; this artist deserves to be lavished with your hard-earned cash for writing something so beautiful, so timeless and iridescent that you’ll swear it’s been around for a hundred years.
OK, let’s rewind a little; Timothy Jaromir has been releasing his fusion of folk, blues and indie-pop since 2010 and has taken his songs afar; playing festivals worldwide with the notable highlight being a spot at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Just to be clear, that’s a pretty big deal; But Timothy is a pretty good artist. 2020’s ‘Hiraeth’ was an 8 track, indie-pop/folk, release that received little to no attention. Which is staggering as songs like ‘After Glow’ and ‘Ghosts’ are incredible; the latter of which has a Nine Inch Nails & Alice In Chains acoustic feel.
Timothy, first and foremost, is a storyteller. Just listen to the hauntingly beautiful title track ‘Hiraeth’ and you’ll be captivated. The narrative and melody carry the song, but the musical accompaniment delivers shivers, perfectly synchronised, never overstated, always adding dramatic effect.
With ‘Rebound’, Timothy shows maturity as a writer and as a vocalist, and picks up where ‘Hiraeth’ left off, without missing a beat. The wonderful fragility of the clean, picked acoustic is complimented with incidental synth stabs and swells to create a wider sonic depth to the sound. This creates a space, that the intimate acoustic sound can gravitate above and allows the space in-between to be occupied by Timothy’s husky head-voice.
From the outset we’re in familiar territory; the narrative sets the tone and the music is a mere vessel to bind the varying layers; to be the canvas upon which the colours dance and merge as Timothy manipulates the ‘brush’ with great finesse.
The chorus delivers both musically and narratively with the introduction of long-time collaborator – and distinguished artist in her own right- Rykka. The combination of Timothy’s upper Tenor and Rykka’s warm high alto creates rich harmonies, inter-woven – and expanded upon – when their tight, rising and subsequent flat-falling, melodic contour deviates to create wonderful implied, nuanced harmonies, that carry an almost orchestral quality.
Ironically, the smallest dynamic shifts often have the greatest impacts. And so is the case here. The addition of Rykka’s velveteen vocals and an understated, yet present and effective, sustained, modulating synth, add sufficient ‘pep’ to elevate the song; in the absence of percussive influence. Indeed, the guitars represent the percussive elements here.
The piece follows a very simple structure with the addition of a short mid-section and stripped back chorus (featuring the first use of strummed chords in the song!); divisively used as a form of build-up, or accents, to very good effect. This enables the slight dynamic shift to act as a mini-crescendo and ushers the piece towards its logical conclusion.
On the production side of things, the separation and octaval variation between the 2 acoustic guitars gives a tonally full perspective and allows clarity. The mix is warm and the synth layers are never in danger of becoming obtrusive, with the vocals taking centre stage and rightly so.
This is a beautiful, simple, elegant love song that, as previously mentioned, has a timeless quality, and demands your full-attention. Far from being impaired by lack of real percussion, it thrives, allowing nothing to impinge upon the narrative. “You’re the one. Full Stop,” reassuringly simple and honest, much like the song in its entirety. ‘Rebound’ is out now and is the first release from Timothy Jaromir’s EP, ‘Man Atlas,’ which will be released on September 6, 2024.
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