Tim Bowness will release his latest solo album, Powder Dry, on 16th August, following his signing with the London-based Kscope label, home of the modern progressive rock acts like The Pineapple Thief, Porcupine Tree and TesseracT.
Ahead of that, and out now, is the first single to be taken from the album, the propulsive ‘Rock Hudson’, a paranoid ode to online discourse. Available digitally the song is accompanied by a vibrant abstract video by Matt Vickerstaff, that echoes Carl Glover’s artwork for the album, and you can check out here at RAMzine.
Bowness said of the song, ‘Like all of the album Powder Dry, the song resulted from an attempt to capture a fleeting feeling as accurately as I could. This time the mood was dark, and there’s something of the spiky post-punk and electro-pop music of the early 1980s that captivated me as a teenager in the mix. Joy Division, The Cure, The The etc.”
A prolific singer, songwriter and producer, Bowness is known for his distinctive vocals and expressive style of songwriting. Notable among those he’s worked alongside are Steven Wilson, releasing seven studio albums under the no-man banner head. More recently he’s worked with Nosound’s Giancarlo Erra, that act having recently released the single ‘Dogs’, featuring Bowness.
Speaking about the label signing, Bowness said, “With its eclectic roster and open-minded and adventurous approach to music and presentation, Kscope seems like a logical home for what I’ve been coming up with of late. I’m excited to see where it all leads.”
Powder Dry features 16 pieces over its restless 40-minute duration. Bowness’s eighth studio album, it is said to represent a new beginning on a new label.
A collection of acute contrasts, the album is a vibrantly accessible and wildly experimental genre-blurring assault, embracing industrial rock, electro pop, singer-songwriter directness, haunted carnival soundscapes and more.
Entirely produced, performed and written by Bowness (a first), Powder Dry was mixed (in stereo and surround sound) by Bowness’s partner in no-man (and The Album Years podcast), Steven Wilson, who also acted as Bowness’s sounding board during the mixing process.
“I’ve had the pleasure to work on most of Tim’s solo albums, and for me this is the best and most creative of them all, partly because this time it’s truly a ‘solo’ album, showcasing not only his unique vocals, but also his distinctive approach to production and performance. It’s totally Tim!” said Wilson.
Chronicling descents into ideological extremism, eco-apocalypse, and the all-too human quest for love in a time of crisis, the album is a constantly shifting kaleidoscope of sound; chasing feelings, searching for meanings and trying to capture the ever-elusive nowness of now.
Tracks featured are: ‘Rock Hudson’, ‘Lost/Not Lost’, ‘When Summer Comes’, ‘Idiots At Large’, ‘A Stand-Up For The Dying’, ‘Old Crawler’, Heartbreak Notes’, ‘Ghost Of A Kiss’, ‘Summer Turned’, ‘You Can Always Disappear’, ‘Powder Dry’, ‘Films Of Our Youth’, ‘This Way Now’, ‘I Was There’, ‘The Film Of Your Youth’ and ‘Built To Last’.
The album will be presented as two coloured vinyl LP editions – pink and yellow – alongside a bonus CD edition with 5.1 surround sound DVD included. Standard black vinyl LP and standard CD editions will also be available. You can reserve your copies here.
TIM BOWNESS LIVE DATES
27th July: EppyFest 11 @ Smokey Joe’s Diner, 16 Bennington St, Cheltenham, GL50 4ED, Tickets available here.
1st December: The Fiddler’s Elbow, Camden, London NW5 3HS for Prog The Forest, headlined by Tim Bowness and his band Butterfly Mind.
