Nixon Tyme is a mercurial figure in modern music. Part music maker, part literary character, and with no discernable or direct social media presence, he exists solely on album and within the pages of “The Ballade of Nixon Tyme.” He also exists between genres—one foot in the folk world, the other in a more considered, classically infused place, a combination that you might call Folk Elégant.
It is also between the singer-songwriter realm and full band sound that he makes his music. Yes, Nixon Tyme is a liminal character, a wanderer between worlds, stepping lightly along demarcations, gently hopping over borders, and hiding in plain sight on the periphery.
And so, with nothing solid to say about him, it is to the music that you must turn for answers. (Or perhaps more questions.)
If “Dirt and Dust” is a slightly upbeat, lilting yet poetic piece that kicks the album off, it is “Inside These Walls,” which follows, that really grabs my attention, not least for its vintage Bowie-esque sounds and understated ways. “The Girl Without a Clue” is a beautiful slice of indie-pop that seems to shift and evolve before your ears, blending tones and textures as it moves – cascading piano, twin vocal sounds, spoken word, chiming guitar, neo-classical grace, and pop groove. “Single-Handed Crossing” feels reminiscent of Lou Reed’s more mainstream moments.
Okay, I have dropped a couple of names, a couple of big names at that, but I’m not suggesting for one moment that How We Love The Sea is anything but original. Perhaps the point here is that I had to reach so far back and so far out for suitable points of sonic reference that speaks volumes.
It’s great to find a songwriter (for want of a better term) who uses the piano as the central instrument, particularly in this age when most artists are still hacking away at guitars or turning to the cold calculations of the digital world.
It’s a unique album, a great album, and, perhaps, even an important album.
Vist the website HERE