Rating: 9/10
By Bobby McCarty
After one EP and a flurry of singles, we can now mark the arrival of a full album release from Brighton based musicians Time for T. For years they have been honing their skills on the seaside town’s music circuit, in good company with the particular network of bands and musicians we have learnt to expect from those shores, but in recent years they have been inching back towards their roots by playing festivals and gigs where possible on the European mainland.
Though the members of the band coalesced in the quintessentially British seaside town, their origins stretch as far as Spain which perhaps plays a hand in their particular style of music. With elements of peripheral folk musicians such as the wonderful Devendra Barnhart through to psych elements reminiscent of era of The Doors their sound is seemingly non-exclusive in terms of genre.
The band released ‘Ronda’ along with a great music video prior to the album drop and while it is a track which typifies their sound pretty well, it by no means sets a strict tone for the rest of the album. Instead the band meanders through just about every genre viable within the niche they are carving out for themselves putting their talents to good use and creating an impressive roster of songs which are every bit as varied as they are impressive.
Listen to ‘Ronda’ here:
Throughout the album there are tracks which adapt musical styles to uphold their lyrics, creating a mixture of sound and meaning which feels as though it has been attentively and carefully curated. For example, the organs which crash through ‘Rescue Plane’ deliver a distinctive psych sound along with a few moments of calm, veering in and out of the chaos of its subject matter – this is exactly what long distance relationships tend to do, if you’ve been there you will know what I mean, if you don’t then listen to this track and then you might get the idea. In short it would be fair to say this a band who chooses their words carefully and are not afraid to branch out in style to support a narrative with the right sound.
It’s easy to pick out tones which we have seen from the likes of Mac DeMarco and even Ty Seagall, almost surf-rock-esque but with an unusually hi-fidelity edge which frame songs like ‘Maria’, ‘Olympics’ and the album closer/namesake ‘Hoping Something Anything’ wonderfully. ‘Sleepwalk’ even brings in the late addition of a reggae vibe which, though unexpected, is quite welcome given the reach of this album.
The band have previously found popularity in the musical crucible of Brighton with songs like ‘Free Hugs’ which was featured on their self-titled EP, the video for which seemingly gave the band enough traction to develop their sound to that which we have now been graced with. Featuring scenes familiar with locals, the video manages to capture the very specific vibe of Brighton and pays homage to the particular culture of acceptance and liberalism which isn’t quite replicated anywhere else in the country – at least not that I know of so far, and I’ve been looking. This again speaks volumes about who Time for T are and what aims they seem to be working towards.
Watch ‘Free Hugs’ here:
Listeners can expect introspective lyricism worked into subtly personal stories all supported by a reliable flow of dreamy, folk inspired indie sounds, which are certainly easy on the ears. We can only hope to see these guys down here in Cornwall in the future, but who could blame them if they did decide to favour the continental scenes moving forwards? Well, shit… thanks ‘Brexit’.
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