Boy & Bear drummer Tim Hart has stepped out from behind his kit once more to present his sophomore solo album, 'The Narrow Corner'.
The album was mostly written while Tim was on the road touring with Boy & Bear and builds dramatically on the work produced for his 2012 debut solo album 'Milling The Wind'.
“The first record I did was a super folky record and I don't know if the goal was to set me apart from Boy & Bear but it was something I always wanted to do, so I did it really raw and really folky,” Tim says.
“I want it to be relaxed and not too serious, that's what I'm really trying to achieve for this tour.”
“The second album is more a product of the songs I've been writing over the years on the road that need an outlet.”
On 'The Narrow Corner', Tim weaves striking lyrical imagery that encapsulates a sense of personal memory, making it a vivid storytelling album in a similar vein to songwriters such as Simon & Garfunkel.
“I became an avid reader and I was really interested in the idea of telling stories and not doing it in the standard way songwriters do it,” he says.
“I'm not suggesting I've broken any new ground, but I love the way people like Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel and Sting write lyrics and they make you think about a story from a different angle, and in a slightly different way rather than those really mundane love songs.
“It's not as dark as my first record but it's still dark… It's been an interesting few years for me, there's been a bit of loss and that sort of stuff, so naturally those songs come out but I hope I'm able to communicate lyrically in a way that people find interesting and engaging.”
With the album due for release in early February, Tim will head out on a national tour at the same time and says he's looking forward to performing the songs as they were written – stripped back entirely to just a guitar and vocals.
“I haven't played solo in Australia for about five years just because Boy & Bear's been so busy,” he says.
“To be able to go play some more rooms and have people discover my music for the first time is really exciting for me. I can't wait to show the new stuff to people.
“I'm going to play solo for the first tour back; I feel like it should be like that. I feel like it's going to be a little bit of a night of storytelling; it'll be a really nice thing for me to be back doing it and to be able to share some stories with people and talk about the past few years.
“I want it to be intimate, I want it to be relaxed and not too serious, that's what I'm really trying to achieve for this tour.”
'The Narrow Corner' is released 2 February. Click here for Tim's January 2018 Porch Sessions shows.
Tim Hart Tour Dates
Sat 3 Feb – Front Bar & Gallery (Canberra)Fri 9 Feb – Leadbelly (Sydney)
Sat 10 Feb – Lizotte's (Newcastle)
Fri 16 Feb – Wesley Anne (Melbourne)
Thu 22 Feb – Bison Bar (Nambour)
Fri 23 Feb – The Milk Factory (Brisbane)
Sat 24 Feb – NightQuarter (Gold Coast)
