Like all of Tequila Jim’s albums Time War is a heaping together of beautifully weird and often contrasting musical styles and approaches. Part acoustic hippie, part classic rock, part singer-songwriter fair, his material plows together a lot of fun elements. While some artists would have a messy album with such diverse inclusions, Rhode Island’s Tequila Jim, as usual, manages to mix it all together with aplomb elixir.
“Cherry Tea” opens Tequila Jim’s Time War with its pleasant acoustic singer-songwriter trappings and vibe. Assertive guitar chords and a strident fiddle line, placed over a thumping groove, develop a purposeful stride. Its jaunt gives Tequila his moving platform to sing in a brisk pace as the singer-songwriter welcomes everyone in for a cup of tea.
“My Friend Johnny” feels like a late 1960s hippie inspired affair. Tequila Jim’s considerate lyrics and vocal pacing take it to his listener easy. A breezy mellotron and a floating flute melody create an aura that makes one picture black and white footage of something from that decade of love.
“I Believer In Love” gets its wind from a strong acoustic guitar presence. Tequila Jim’s gentle application of his soft vocal timbre contrasts well with the accented guitar progression. He has an uncanny sense of how to line up voice and instrumentation for emotive effect. Here, he creates a forlorn emotion, something tugging on the singer-songwriter’s consciousness and a longing that it brings. It certainly continues this album’s feeling of another time gone by.
“My State Of Mind” moves at an assertive pace as its soft vocal, gentle acoustic guitar, and brittle stick work keep it in a mild tumbleweed momentum. An original upbeat acoustic rocker, this one recalls Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd combined with The Zombies who rocked their listeners gently.
Barreling harmonica melody pushes “I’m Coming For You” straight into the listener’s consciousness. Tequila Jim’s folksy vocal delivery here, over a pretty, shiny piano line and a solid acoustic guitar strum, reaches the listener’s serious side. It has a Dylan-esque insight into human exchanges as well as Dylan’s rollicking folk.
“Be My Baby Now” burst in with a muscular strum. Tequila Jim then takes it to a cruising pace, an easy going percussion patter and a mellow vocal chorus revolving around that solid acoustic guitar fiber. Tossing in a mellotron melody, this songwriter transports the listener back to a more experimental phase in modern music.
“The Hunt Of 1850” beautifully and majestically combines large bass guitar notes with an expansive acoustic guitar melody. The largeness of notes lends the grandness needed for Tequila Jim’s epic story which took place in the forlorn past. His lyrics haunt the listener with their detailed imagery, a revelation that could only be imagined among this looming musical drama.
For “Jim’s Blues,” dueling electric and acoustic guitars and a feisty harmonica chime in together, grapple for their own space, and leave an aggressive rumble feeling. This is true hard rock, a lead guitar grinds out its melodic line with an attitude laced motion. Harmonica tackles it with a leap and fall, and the rhythm section places a pushy thump beneath the proceedings. Action packed motion keeps the listener glued.
“So It Goes” rides a grungy guitar phrase that carries the whole song. Tequila Jim’s voice floats along the surface like white river rafting, contrasting well the bossy electric six string and the hippy harmony vibe in the chorus.
“You Know I Know” gets its likable, peppy vibe from a slapping acoustic guitar chord progression and some percussive fills from a drum kit. Placing some chipper harmony vocals over that persistent bounce and we have one fun campfire singalong. It dares the listener not to have fun.
A swtichy electric guitar filling packs the kitschy cool “Baby Don’t You Leave Me Know More.” That fire and energy makes the rest of the song wiggle. A brisk drum beat keeps the guitar tightly packed into each meter, giving the song a muscular personality. Tequila Jim’s smooth running rasp rides the guitar line well and the tune never misses an opportunity to be cool.
Instrumental workout “To Forever” continues the same electric guitar spark as the previous song. Yet, it develops its sound more, showcasing what Tequila Jim can do by torturing his six string until it smolders with bluesy rock aggression.
A five part close out completes the grand, beautiful madness of this album. “Believe In Love” perfectly blends acoustic guitar with a gurgling bass line, a sweet horn line and a mellotron effect. “Evolution” is a chilling piano ballad with a finality in some heavy drum fills and a haunting mellotron. “To The Moon” fills its brief running time with a simple lyric over a rocking beat and rushing melodic energy. “In Your Time” combines an eerie Pink Floyd piano elegance with a peculiar electric keyboard sound and a worldly Tom Waits vibe, a good mashup. Finally, “Undone” completes this concluding song cycle with the more rocking band piece “Undone.” Raspy vocal, solid bass guitar punches, and a flexible projection of drum fills form into a hip bar band groove, the players forming their highly individual approaches into a piece with integrity.
Tequila Jim and his multi instrumental approach with a few other musicians create a plethora of cool sounds on this Time War album. Like Tequila Jim’s previous offerings, Time War pulls in many genres, styles, and instrumental approaches to create a musical tapestry that Tequila Jim hears in his head before going into True Music Studios in Smithfield, Rhode Island. The most profound difference with his latest Time War album is that Tequila Jim has only gotten more brilliant at it. Bravo.
