Tim Grimm’s latest release is the latest in a series of solid albums in which honest folk/country songs are framed by a strong sense of place.
The singer guides listeners from the hills of Southern Indiana to the Oklahoma prairie. His songs chart experiences and reflections from the many years on the rural farm Grimm built for his family. The Breath of Burning is the most poignant of these.
Grimm says: “I’m a fairly private person, and I think of myself as an observer. I’ve previously shied away from writing albums too much directly about me – but this one couldn’t be avoided.” To prove the point, all nine tunes are first-person narratives.
Although the album covers plenty of familiar territory, it also reflects a need for change. It’s the first of his records not to be recorded in Indiana, features an all new cast of musicians and find him working with Steve Boaz, a sound engineer he’d never previously met. He worked quickly too, recording all solo vocals and guitar parts in one day.
In the opening song - The Leaving - he sets out his agenda: “I’m just trying to find some peace”.
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Memories of his father are prominent in New Boots while Stirrin’ Up Trouble is more outward looking, a grisly riposte to narrow-minded attitudes.
In Lonesome All The Time he sings about farms and barns while sounding a little like Townes Van Zandt.
I Don’t Know This World is a song about alienation where he muses on broken hearts and blasted roads while “driving through the night to be alone.”
The title track passes on the wisdom that the here and now is what matters and the album closes with a dedication to and celebration of the mystery of love (Bigger Than The Sky)
It all serves to endorse the principle that there are vital connections between the personal and the universal.
Tim Grimm’s website
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