I am quite partial to Australian musicians and songwriters, not just thanks to Wil Wagner and Lincoln Le Fevre but they’ve probably had something to do with my increasing love of Aussie accented vocals over the past year. However, today I have a new favourite Australian solo acoustic artist, Tim Hampshire from Portland, Victoria. I’d heard of him before, since Colin previously recommended him to me, and so when I saw his latest EP appear on Bandcamp’s new releases I happily took a listen. The doggy on the cover did help as well – I do judge albums by their cover art, a tiny bit.
I’m Not Really A Morning Person is a four song EP and track number one, titled Chasing Decency, kicks off at a reasonably fast pace. Despite being an acoustic track, there is a lot of energy and determination injected into Chasing Decency. The song is about trying to make the best of life with what you have, aiming to be a decent human being while you’re at it. A fine start to this EP. ‘I’m no poet laureate, But I’m getting by with what little I have, As far as ability goes, Punch above my weight, Though I choose not to fight, Ignorance isn’t bliss anymore, Internally I’m not comfortable with this…’ Next up is a slower, more solemn-sounding track called Keep This For Later On. This feels like more of a heartfelt song than the first, allowing the listener to have a personal connection to Tim’s songwriting that they perhaps didn’t get so much with Chasing Decency. Although slower in pace, the acoustic guitar and vocals feel warm rather than entirely melancholic. There is also a sense of hopefulness in lines such as ‘I can feel the winds of change, And for once they’re blowing good things my way.’ and ‘I will embrace the chaos, This is not my final curtain call.’ which I love.
Catch Me If You Can is the third song of I’m Not Really A Morning Person and is an excellent combination of mid-tempo acoustic guitars – note the plural as there are definitely two wonderfully melodic guitars in parts – and catchy vocal lines. This is a head nodder of a song and probably my favourite of the EP. Catch Me If You Can features guest vocals towards the end of the song which add a little element of gang vocals that us punks love so much. And as much as I adore acoustic-based music, I found myself imagining this song as a full band affair – I think it would work fantastically. There’s also a moment when Tim’s vocals break a little as he’s singing ‘Catch me if you can’ at the top of his lungs that I love – less polished and more punk, as it should be. Unfortunately I’m Not Really A Morning Person must come to an end but it does so in style with the fourth track, Seedy Weekdays 2.0. This is another upbeat track with rapidly strummed chords throughout its duration. Tim’s vocals are full of fiery passion as he sings optimistically – ‘We have better things to worry about, Like how we’re going to go about changing the world, That way it is more suitable for the likes of us, I can’t think of any other way to spend this seedy weekdays.’ The song rounds off the EP nicely and I instantly go to hit play and listen again.
I’m Not Really A Morning Person can be downloaded and streamed on Bandcamp now. You can also find Tim Hampshire over on Facebook here.
This album review was written by Emma Prew.
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