The Shadow Out of Tim

Darkest of the Hillside Thickets took seven years to record and release a follow-up to their concept album Spaceship Zero, and it was worth the wait. Yet another clever homage to H.P. Lovecraft, Shadow Out of Tim is an alt rock opera of sorts, albeit without the consistency or vision of Pretty Things S.F. Sorrow or the Who's Tommy. The 1913 Lovecraft short story of alien mind-swapping has been moved into the present, as modern-day marine biologist Timothy Vess is possessed by an alien intelligence, learning terrible truths about life; rapidly descending into madness to a soundtrack of goofball "na na nas," handclaps, whistles, simple guitar riffs, and foot-stomping percussion. Any reader with a passing knowledge of Klingon syntax has already heard some of these songs, as the Thickets have played almost every Comic and SF/Fantasy convention on the planet since their last release. Their concert experience shows — while still sophomoric in both approach and attack, DOTHT have become much more proficient as musicians, and this CD zips along at an invigorating pace. These guys have learned how to keep a crowd bopping, and surprisingly they've managed to transfer that live energy into their studio recording. The narrative content is very much secondary to the overall groove, as Warren Banks' guitar builds and swells in smashing crescendos, and Jordan Pratt pounds out a consistent rhythmic underpinning that was missing from previous DOTHT releases. Shadow Out of Tim all adds up to a fun listen, a self-proclaimed rock & roll tour "through space and time, painting sonic pictures of the ocean deep, mysterious ruin-covered islands, and Paleocene jungles"; the insert booklet even comes with a glossary for people who cannot tell an ammonite from a creodent. A nice step forward for the band, and an affirmation for the converted.