Tim Presley Throws It Back

Leaving the stage name White Fence behind, California based musician Tim Presley’s new release The Wink channels influences spanning many different iconic bands and musicians. From The Beatles, Lou Reed, The Doors and many others, Presley takes the best from each of these artists and shapes into something that is entirely his own.

The effortlessness of Presley’s ability to switch easily and efficiently between genre and sounds is by far the most impressive feat of this album. Whether it is psychedelic, blues or experimental the listener marvels at the fluency that Presley demonstrates on this record.

The album begins with the entirely instrumental song “O’Guardian A” which sounds like it was plucked from a Kubrick-esque dystopian/sci-fi film like A Clockwork Orange or 2001: A Space Odyssey. It sounds so alien in its origins, but there is an uncomfortable familiarity with it. This song sets the tone for the rest of the record, where the listener cannot pinpoint where one has heard the music before, but knows that they have encountered it at some point in their lives.

Songs like “The Wink” and “Long Bow” seem to take their influence from The Doors. While other tracks “Can You Blame,” “Goldfish Wheelchair” and “Morris” take on a species similar to Lou Reed with its monotone vocals and unconventional lyrics. A chunk of the songs like “Solitude Cola” and “Kerouac” are Sgt. Pepper-y in their instrumental nature while the vocals are much more like that of Ariel Pink.

On certain songs, he takes a backseat to the dusty instrumentals plucked from another era, but comes back energetically with the vocals and stuns the listener with his dead pan, but equally engaging voice. This may be Presley’s album, but what is so great about The Wink is how he subtly pays homage (a wink) to many great artists before him without sacrificing his own unique sound.