Tim Baker Releases Solo Debut 'Forever Overhead'

Today the very deliberate debut solo album from Tim Baker makes its way into the wider world. Forever Overhead (Arts & Crafts) is a blend of piano ballads with ebullient folk-rock tracks. Although the record is brushed with the qualities of 70s singer-songwriters (think Jackson Browne and Randy Newman) Baker drew inspiration from his contemporaries like Feist, Leif Vollebekk, and The Barr Brothers. The resulting organic blend of pop grooves and folk-rock is straightforward with curious undertones that provides a timeless backdrop for Baker's vibrant lyricism.

In celebration of the record, Tim reveals new song, "Spirit," another ode to Tim's formative life in St. John's. "It's about how the (incessantly terrible) weather of the city really gets inside you and affects you emotionally, but one way we as a people seem to protect ourselves from it - other than drinking and joking - is through music," says Tim. "I never realized until I moved away that the sort of collective catharsis there is in shared music is something that happens all the time in Newfoundland. It's something that almost has to happen, to get you up the hill so to speak. I'm grateful for it, because it has obviously shaped me."

Previously released tracks "Dance" and "All Hands," began to reveal the beautiful backbone of the album, and "The Side Door Sessions" provided an ultimate preview of how Tim road-tested and developed the tracks in some of the most unusual venues and homes across the country.

Intertwined in songs about human connections, Baker is in awe of nature and longs to renew his relationship with it. "Strange River," a bouncy, piano-driven track, was inspired by Baker's move from his home in St. John's to a condo in downtown Toronto and sonically echoes the joy that nature provides while on "Our Team," Baker muses about nature's perseverance and he grins at birds maintaining their authority over land that will soon host another skyscraper.

Forever Overhead was produced by Marcus Paquin (The National, Local Natives) and features Liam O'Neill (Suuns), Ben Whiteley (The Weather Station), as well as Mishka Stein & Joe Grass (Patrick Watson).

Baker writes, "I always felt that I want to write about things that are really meaningful to me and also in a kind of oblique way, do good. If you're going to commit your whole life to it, I think it should be about more than trying to be cool or something...which I've never been particularly good at anyway."

TIM BAKER - HEADLINE SHOWS 2019:

04/19/19 St. John's, NL Holy Heart Theatre*

04/20/19 St. John's, NL Holy Heart Theatre*

04/23/19 Toronto, ON Great Hall* SOLD OUT

04/24/19 Toronto, ON Great Hall* SOLD OUT

04/25/19 Toronto, ON Great Hall*

04/26/19 Ottawa, ON Bronson Centre*

04/28/19 Quebec City, QC Maelstrom*

04/29/19 Fredericton, NB Wilmot United Church*

04/30/19 Moncton, NB Tide and Boar Ballroom*

05/02/19 Charlottetown, PE ECMAs

05/03/19 Halifax, NS St. Matthew's United Church* SOLD OUT

05/04/19 Halifax, NS St. Matthew's United Church* SOLD OUT

05/07/19 Montreal, QC Le Ministère*

05/08/19 NYC, NY Rockwood Music Hall

05/13/19 Asbury Park, NJ Danny Clinch Gallery

05/14/19 Vienna, VA Jammin Java

05/16/19 Boston, MA Cafe 939

05/18/19 Burlington, VT Higher Ground Showcase

05/20/19 Buffalo, NY Leopard Lounge at Town Ballroom

05/29/19 Edmonton, AB The Station on Jasper*

05/30/19 Calgary, AB Commonwealth Bar & Stage*

06/01/19 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom*

06/03/19 Seattle, WA Columbia City Theater*

06/04/19 Portland, OR The Old Church*

06/07/19 Los Angeles, CA The Hotel Cafe*

06/08/19 San Francisco, CA Hotel Utah*

*with Charlotte Cornfield

FOREVER OVERHEAD Track Listing:

1) Dance

2) All Hands

3) Hideaway

4) Spirit

5) Strange River

6) The Eighteenth Hole

7) Two Mirrors

8) Pools

9) The Sound of the Machines

10) Our Team

11) Don't Let Me Go Yet