2016 was a year of the unexpected. Frank Ocean came out of the boondocks. Brangelina broke up. Donald Trump won the election. Timber Timbre draws inspiration from those bizarre turns on Sincerely, Future Pollution, a melancholic yet satisfying prediction of the future.
“2016 was a very difficult time to observe,” lead singer Taylor Kirk said in the album’s announcement. “I hate to admit that normally I express more sensitivity than concern politically, but I think the tone and result on the record is utter chaos and confusion. When we were recording, the premonition was that the events we saw unfolding were an elaborate hoax. But the mockery made of our power system spawned a lot of dark, dystopic thoughts and ideas. And then it all happened, while everyone was on Instagram. The sewers overflowed.”
Interestingly, the opening track, “Velvet Gloves & Spit” provides no prelude to the anguish on the remainder of the release, choosing instead a sophisticated composition of reedy instruments and layered beats. The song still maintains the album’s urgent message but deviates from the release’s primary style as Kirk’s powerful vocals are used strategically to evoke some positivity.
Judging from the album’s title, it’s clear the band wants its listeners to pay closer attention to their world. Otherwise, despair is imminent. Sincerely, Future Pollution is a woeful twist on folk rock music whose disquieting instrumentals captures the release’s gloomy themes. “It’s all fleshed out, fleshed out and forgotten now” Kirk sings on “Sewer Blues,” emphasizing the regret his listeners presumably felt as they watch the consequences of political apathy come into play.
A multitude of weird juxtapositions are featured in the band’s lyrics. Fuzzy bass guitars season Kirk’s voice, as the band comes together to malevolently execute despair-filled harmonies. The band features soulful, refreshingly jazzy rhythm on “Bleu Nuit,” which manages to stand out on such an atmospheric album with a robotic effect employed on the vocals. Kirk enunciates such dismal lyrics to amplify their effect, creeping out his listeners with every grave word.
Songs like “Western Questions” show ambition with an impressive, reverb-drenched guitar solo that allows the track to quickly shift from its feelings of genuine depression to careful youth.
Timber Timbre’s music oscillates from sanguine and free-spirited psychedelic pop to dark and twisted gothic rock. At times, the structure of the music feels derivative of well-known rock bands of the 1970s, borrowing the hip-swinging funk redolent of Electric Light Orchestra on tracks like “Grifting,” while emulating the futuristic, heavily synthesized arrangements from Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of The Moon for the majority of the 40-minute release.
Every song finds its own identity, following a musical structure that incorporates its own sprightly breakdown. “Skin Tone” is a honed display of mellow, yet sinister music. A variety of synths come together to form a smooth, rapturous melody.
The band, known for their dreary, sometimes even disquieting sound, have always shown a willingness to walk on untrodden musical territory yet some moments on this album feel familiar. Kirk’s husky voice, sounding like a cross between Edward Sharpe and Andrew VanWyngarden, contributes to the downtempo of the album’s emotional track. At its most flattering moments, this is complimentary, even entertaining, and at its worst, it is slow-moving, halting the ardor behind the music. Nonetheless, Sincerely, Future Pollution is an impressive example of the band’s refined talent in creating depressing yet highly animated music.
