[CD Review] TIM GUY – Dreaming of the Night Mango

Hailing from New Zealand and Melbourne, singer/songwriter, Tim Guy is releasing his fourth album. In a similar way to his previous LPs, the music is natural and earthy and he likes to show it by playing regular shows around Melbourne and Victoria.

You can hear the Kiwi in Guy from the first song of Dreaming Of A Night Mango: his accent laces the vocals, putting a lick of honey on the music. In ‘Riding Dinosaurs’, he layers his voice a little and adds more instruments into the mix, framing the chorus with harmonica. You could almost liken the finger picking in ‘Fire Goes Out’ to Jose Gonzalez from the way it induces a little sway. Lyrically it feels a touch repetitive but is easily overlooked due to it’s ability to induce a calm desire to be in the countryside.

‘Armour Weight’ was the single released in October last year to preview the album and it would also have to be the most compelling song on the album, breaking away from the trembling acoustic folk of the remaining tracks. In short, sounds like a heavy down under version of a Josh Pyke chorus. ‘Battlefield’ is then softer, addressing our small dilemmas in life. Guy sings “I can help you if you let me get closer… It’s a battlefield” and “Was hoping we could find the answer to the riddle” and the guitar is echoey, as if these answers are far away.

This is a versatile album depending on how you listen to it. Tim Guy’s music really makes you dream about how nice it might be to get out of the big cities.

The Lost and Lonely Recording Co.
6/10
Reviewer: Jamie Nelson