2 minute read
Music: Timothy Seed
TIMOTHY SEED
Patoka multiinstrumentalist releases My Flower Wilted, second in a series of experimental EPs
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And this three-track EP is a wild ride, for sure, fusing elements of Tom Petty, Alice In Chains, Nirvana, Big Black, Jesus Lizard and more - all tied together via some truly intense lyrics that border on gothic at times. Bingham's style is appealingly abrasive, even unsettling on occasion, as evidenced by opening track "Electroshock" which begins with a fairly standard 4-chord acoustic guitar progression before slowly morphing into a fuzzed-out freak-out as he details the dark side of religion: "Exercise my demons while your wife f***s the congregation/ Private torture in the Christian school/ Choir boys learn the golden rule/ Electroshock therapy." That twisted gem is followed by the relentless title track which is an early candidate for song/recording of 2022. Here, Bingham and Tyner totally hit the mark in tandem, producing an absolutely riveting 3 minutes and 50 seconds of adrenaline rush, with one amazing guitar riff after another driving it forward - capped by Bingham's unhinged vocals that seem to hover in the background menacingly. Brilliant.
In the best way possible, Timothy Bingham is an outlier in the tri-state music scene. Geographically speaking, the Patoka farmer exists outside the loop of local bars and entertainment venues, but he's also creatively out there, happily marching to the beat of his own drum. And actually, Bingham - or Timothy Seed, as his ongoing solo project is dubbed - is a drummer... and a guitarist, bassist and vocalist. Just like on his debut EP released a year ago, he's a one-man band, performing the follow-up, My Flower Wilted, all by his lonesome, proving that you don't have to rely on other musicians to make something great. In this case, Bingham simply needed the assistance of Steve Tyner at Black Cat Recording to bring his adventurous song ideas to life. My Flower Wilted concludes via the nearly 10-minute "Bloodsport" which stomps along with brute force, increasingly dominated by distorted guitars as Bingham seems to gasp for air, drowning in the cesspool of mankind: "God I'm so ashamed to be/ Are we human?/ Let's kill each other and then we'll see.../ Bloodsport for the centuries." It's a fitting way to end this willfully strange EP that entirely succeeds in creating something provocative and, well, out there. You're simply not going to come across anything quite like it anytime soon and that's a compliment of the highest order. And it's not the last of Timothy Seed by any stretch; Bingham has more recordings on the horizon, so stay tuned...
