If you’re looking for a truly alternative play list for Halloween (you can find more traditional choices here), check out the eerie sounds of Timber Timbre, a Canadian folk-rock act that’s starting to earn some buzz south of our northern border. A slow and somber, moody mix of swampy blues and spooky imagery, Timber Timbre’s music is not specifically Halloween-themed, but it has a steady tinge of sinister cool that could set the tone for a night of witchery.

From now until midnight tomorrow (Saturday, October 31) you can download the entire self-titled album by Timber Timbre for free. It’s available courtesy of the act’s label, Arts & Crafts, home to such acclaimed Canadian music-makers as Broken Social Scene, Feist and Stars.

Much like Bon Iver and Owl City, Timber Timbre is really a stage name for a sole creative source, in this case, singer-songwriter Taylor Kirk. The band name is both a reference to the sound of falling trees on the Brooklin, Ontario farm where Kirk was raised, paired with the word (pronounced “TAM-ber”) for the element of sound that gives each instrument its unique color.

This is actually Kirk’s third album (after two self-released sets), first appearing on the Out of this Spark label in January 2009 and subsequently re-released by Arts & Crafts this summer. Toronto's Eye Weekly has already heralded the set as "Album Of the Year,” while New York’s Village Voice touted the band for its "uniquely creepy beauty.” Recommended if you like White Stripes, Tom Waits, Nick Cave in his murder ballad stage.

Timber Timbre recently wrapped up a month-long North American tour and is back on the road again. Timber Timbre tour dates:

11/7/09 Toronto, ON North York Library
11/17/09 Albany, NY Valentines
11/19/09 Arlington, VA IOTA Club
11/20/09 New York, NY Joe’s Pub
11/25/09 Montreal, QC Casa Del Popolo
11/26/09 Wakefield, QC Black Sheep Inn
11/27/09 Kingston, ON Grad Club

more info:
Arts & Crafts label
Myspace
wikipedia
 

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