Written by Matt DeBenedetti
I’m going to skip all the formal crap with this review of Tim Korenich’s latest release, Change of Pace, and just get right to the point: I absolutely loved it.
There is something extremely special about this music, and I will be so shocked if Korenich is not a well known name in music in the next year. After my first listen I did some reading into his name and found out that he was in a few Pittsburgh, PA based bands prior to cutting his own solo record, then laughed in amazement thinking that he should have just played solo the whole time.
While certain tracks on Change of Pace build beautifully and flow from beginning to end, Tim does something on this album that a lot of musicians can’t seem to figure it out, and that is that he keeps it simple. Seriously, there are a few tracks that don’t even have real lyrics for an entire two minutes or more! For example, take the muted trumpet piece “Mr. Brown’s Blues”, which would make you think you’re in the 1950’s if you listened to it with your eyes closed. Or the beautifully, yet once again simply written “Traveling Music”, which reminds me of a twist between two of my favorite bands, Bon Iver and River City Extension. Normally songs like these would bore me to tears, but for some reason these are some of my favorites—Tim pulls it off like no other.
There is something about this type of folk-ish influenced music that hits me in the heart, and with a mixture of Tim’s soft but strong vocal, pleasant finger picking of the guitar, and background elements like a few bits of percussion, trumpet, or other small sounds, there is nothing that should stop this record from getting into the hands of the right people to get Tim to the big stage. I give Change of Pace a 9 out of 10, and I am looking forward to getting in my car today so I can listen to it, and you should do the same.
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