TIM BOWNESS – Late Night Laments [2xCD Limited Digipak] (2020)

TIM BOWNESS is primarily known as vocalist / co-writer with the band No-Man, a long-running collaboration with Steven Wilson. But he has a prolific solo career too. His sixth effort ”Late Night Laments” is a collection of lush, atmospheric melodic songs with a wide lyrical scope marking the most intimate yet universal of Tim Bowness’s solo releases.
Mixed by the excellent Steven Wilson and mastered by Calum Malcolm (Mark Knopfler, Simple Minds), this 2xCD Limited Digipak includes and extra disc with 5 bonus tracks

Tim has taken the advantage of going in to the heart on the themes of violence, insanity, social exclusion, and generational divisions. And with a little help from Richard Barbieri, Alistair Murphy, Colin Edwin, Evan Carson, and Knifeworld’s Kavus Torabi and Melanie Woods, they lend Tim a helping hand by bringing his latest album to life.
Not to mention the mixing from Steven Wilson with Calum Malcolm in the mastering realm, the music is exotic, melodic and featuring some unexpected moments that gives the listener a chance to see where Bowness is going with five centerpieces that is on ”Late Night Laments”.

The views on ‘Darkline’ tackle into a suicidal and evil maniac who is going through the creep level while suffering both loss and depression as Richard Barbieri brings his synthesizers to cry out into the night as ‘We Caught the Light’ is a laid-back groove with a lullaby rhythm section that goes through a sound delay with Edwin’s double bass lending the arms into wide open spaces to reveal its true glory.

‘The Last Getaway’ is Bowness tip of the hat towards an electronic version of Wings’ ‘Silly Love Songs’ as Barbieri comes back with some swirling exercises before coming back home to Earth.
‘Northern Rain’ which starts the album off, deals with what is happening in the World right now, isn’t is what we know for what it was in the past and present, but it is dying in front of our eyes that was bound to happen in the years to come. The keyboards sets up the sound effects of the rain dripping down before it changes into this blaring effect of the first glimpse of the sun coming out from the calm after the storm.

‘Hidden Life’ is the subject dealing with someone who is the voice of the people in front of their followers, but behind the scenes, they reveal its darker side by taking the mask off and what they’re doing, is one big gigantic lie.
The arrangements on the composition has this 80s new wave approach between Soft Cell and Ultravox’s Vienna that Bowness himself delves into the deeper waters of the genre.

Tim Bowness is a unique artist in the world of prog / pop, one that takes an introspective approach with his music, focuses on emotion, and the human condition. There is a lot of depth to the songs on this album.
Sit back and get drawn in.

01 – Northern Rain
02 – I’m Better Now
03 – Darkline
04 – We Caught the Light
05 – The Hitman Who Missed
06 – Never a Place
07 – The Last Getaway
08 – Hidden Life
09 – One Last Call
10 – The Other Side (Bonus track)
11 – Beauty in Decay (Bonus track)
12 – Beyond the Firing Line (Bonus track)
13 – Cheerleader for the Damned (Bonus track)
14 – War Games by the Sea (Bonus track)

Tim Bowness – vocals, synths, fx
Brian Hulse – synths, keyboards, guitars, backing vocals
with:
Tom Atherton – vibraphone 1, 4, 5, 6, 9
Richard Barbieri – synths and synth solos
Evan Carson – drums and percussion
Colin Edwin – double bass
Alistair Murphy – dianatron
Kavus Torabi – guitar, backing vocals
Melanie Woods – backing vocals

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www.amazon.co.uk/Late-Night-Laments-Limited-Digipak/dp/B08BGJN9R2