Tim Fitz – ‘Beforetime’ EP

‘The Line’

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‘Live Like It’s a Free Giveaway’

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Tim Fitz is 21 year old producer/instrumentalist/singer out of Sydney. He put out his first EP Infinite Space in March, but his latest release Beforetime is definitely a rich picking. Some might hear genre spanning and others will hear indecisiveness, but there’s a great feel to this collection of tracks. ‘The Line’ is a good example of Fitz’ kaleido-instrumentals. Just as the flouncy percussion gets into the proper swing of things, we get bombarded by drive-high fuzz around the 1 min mark. It’s a little startling at first, but it suddenly breaks with a weird kind of comedic ease back into another crazy improv section.

Throwing about 6 different song ideas into three minutes, gives any tune the potential to get manic. And this does. However there’s something about the way it all comes together here that makes careful production sound like a casual afternoon jam sesh. From a production point of view, this guy has a lot of great ideas. Perhaps an 8 track EP just isn’t enough to fit all of them in. The chatty verse and loungey keyboards in ‘Hold Back a Second’ comes across as another general formula for those closing tracks on local ‘hip hop’ releases, while ‘Blanket of Love’ earns back redemption sounding like a dreamy Mesita remix. Then there’s title track, ‘Beforetime’ – oddly at contrast to the rest of the songs on the EP, but I guess a little introspective piano solo is good for making all of us a little less edgy.

Fitz sound is original, but the way he’s put his sounds together are still familiar enough to catch onto. One of the more enjoyable releases I’ve heard this year. More please.

You can hear the full EP at his bandcamp here.

Tim Fitz is playing with Telefonica and Atom Hawk (Daniel Cunningham of Parades) at The Gate on the 9th of December. It may well be the final send off for the portable music event that begun in the same humble backyard. I’m geographically frustrated that I’m in Melbs when this is happening, but there is every reason (outlined above) for you to get along if you’re in Sydney.

www.timfitz.bandcamp.com

www.thegatepresents.com