A new voice emerging from Melbourne's indie laneways, Tim Allan is a singer-songwriter already showcasing an ability to distill the human spirit into song form.
Originally from the Macedon Ranges, and nurtured on his father's record collection (think Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and et al), Tim had already picked up a guitar aged ten, before teaching himself to play the entire Green Day's 'Bullet In A Bible' live CD.
With music his future, Allan spent four years furthering his craft before completing his songwriting degree at Australian College of the Arts (Collarts) as well as busking the streets of Melbourne.
This led to his debut EP, 'Songs I Used To Busk With', in 2023.
After recruiting a number of his Collarts mates into his backing band, Tim has graced stages at Hamer Hall, Melbourne Theatre Company, The Gaso, The Workers Club and Bergy Bandroom.
With his sophomore EP 'Not The Bad Boy' landing next month (19 June), Tim shares the lead track, 'Crash', a deeply personal song that captures the essence of saying goodbye to a loved one in their final moments of life.
Gently strummed guitar lines that emanate an afterglow commence the song, Tim's tenderly vulnerable vocals coated in husky-nasally tones as he sings about grief and the unavoidable gloominess that attaches itself when you lose someone you love.
'It's like buckling in for a car crash / You know it's coming but you can't react / Can't get out the way / Or absorb the blow / Can only hope you make it through the day.'
It's raw and unpolished, the emotions dripping from every note strummed, every word sung, Tim's melancholy and sorrow offering a fragility that is empowering.
That fierceness continues as the song builds momentum, guitar and drums picking up speed, a resilient spirit prevailing as Tim embraces the sorrow, allowing the pain to breathe, and in doing so enabling himself to move forward.
'Time to brace / Ready to crash / Take a breath / Can't turn back.'
With 'Crash' released today, scenestr is proud to premiere the song's music video. Enjoy.
"'Crash' was written after visiting a family member in hospital for the last time. It was sudden. It was heartbreaking. It felt like a car crash waiting to happen – there was nothing I could do but wait," shares Tim.
"After I got home I went for a walk, came back, sat in my studio and wrote the song. Writing has always been a kind of therapy for me, and this was one of those moments where it really needed to be. I cried writing it. I cried recording. I cry introducing it. It's cathartic."
That emotional purge is a natural part of grieving. "[I had] a million memories running through my head and I couldn't keep up. 'Crash' in many ways is about accepting. Life can hit like a wave.
"That weekend was so hard for me, but before I moved on, I wanted to bottle up that emotion and record a demo of the song. A couple of weeks later I went back to it and started recording it.
"So much of the ways in which I sung it in the studio stuck in the final recording, it felt emotional, it felt honest.
"When I finished recording all my guitars, bass, vocals, keys I found a producer, Levi Russel, to see if he could add that indie-pop flare I could hear in the production – and I think we found that sparkle."
Written and produced by Allan himself, 'Not The Bad Boy' moves between louder, massive production tracks and quieter, stripped-back songs that lean into the personal side of his writing.
It's less about sticking to one sound and more about capturing different versions of where he's been at.
"I just launched 'Crash' at Club Voltaire in North Melbourne in an intimate show," Tim says. "This was my first ever entirely solo headline and one of the funnest shows I've done.
"My favourite part of being a songwriter is connecting them with people and I loved sharing the stories behind my songs with them. The band and I are rehearsing for an EP launch; stay tuned for details."
