Timeseven – “Lost In Nashville”

Timeseven – “Lost In Nashville” – Single Review

Hmmmmmmmm…

I mean, let the record show that Timeseven has been on an incredible run.  Single after single, song after song, the results have always shown a commitment to quality, and in that respect, “Lost In Nashville” continues the hot streak this band led by William Hayden has enjoyed.  The standards of excellence in Timeseven sit at a higher bar than most out there would dare to hold themselves to, and that has been reflected in every review that I’ve ever written for Hayden and his whole team of fellow ace musicians.

I think that…hmm…to say the streak is over, would be a bit overboard…I think that there’s a different conversation to be had here.  Ultimately, the standards never drop when it comes to the execution in Timeseven, which really only leaves you with personal taste and what naturally appeals to you when it comes what you’re listening to.  “Lost In Nashville” is probably a little less my thing than tunes I’ve heard from this project in the past, but at the same time, I think we need to take that opinion with a grain of salt considering that Timeseven had always beaten the odds to begin with in the sense that it generally plays within genres I don’t usually gravitate towards to begin with in the Country/Folk realm.  In that sense, if you know your music history and you do well on trivia nights at your local bar, I think you’ll find that on a stylistic level, “Lost In Nashville” borrows its laidback & dreamy vibes from genres that would be closer to the Adult Contemporary section and/or movie themes from the mid-to-late 70s/early 80s.  Nothing wrong with that of course…y’all always have the freedom to change, and I truly believe that when you’re doing what you do as well as you can, your fans will likely be able to go along with you.  Like I said – this is less of my thing – I didn’t say I wasn’t still listening – of course I am, it’s Timeseven.

I mean…to be truthful with you, the musicianship and tightness of the way this song is played is outright staggering…that’s the facts.  So if you’re looking to listen to what an objectively perfect song sounds like when it comes to execution, heck yeah I’d be recommending you have yourself a listen to “Lost In Nashville.”  Key elements like the bass of Alison Prestwood for example…good lord, she plays with an exquisite level of feel that theoretically just can’t be beat – she shines in this recording.  The flugelhorn ensemble provided by Coen Hamelink, and in particular the flugelhorn solo from Sam Merrill, are pretty much worth whatever the price of your admission would be to have a listen to this track…they’re truly essential contributions that bring “Lost In Nashville” to an entirely different level in its combination of daydreamy-meets-fascinating sound.  Then there are other stellar elements you wouldn’t want to miss, like the flawless keys of Reed Pittman, or the endlessly remarkable vocals of singer Brad Williams, who proceeds to knock yet another Timeseven single outta the park when it comes to how he sings Hayden’s tunes.  Others in the mix, like William (acoustic/electric guitars) & Noah Needleman (percussion/guitar), arguably play a bit of a lesser role in this particular song I suppose, but make no mistake, listening to the music of Timeseven is always a pure joy in the sense that you’re never going to hear a note out of place.

Where it gets a bit tougher to examine a track like “Lost In Nashville” is that I’d argue it’s definitely a step or two behind the rest of what’s out there on the radio & the charts these days.  Now…again, that doesn’t have to be a bad thing at all – in fact, if that’s what Timeseven was attempting to create, to go like, somewhat counter-culture, or choosing to swim upstream on purpose in that respect…then hey, no harm, no foul.  However, if the intention was to create a song that’s just going to slide onto the playlists of listeners out there…I would assume that “Lost In Nashville” has more of a battle ahead of it than they might have thought.  For the most part, that’s simply due to the fact that you don’t actually hear a lot of tunes like this out there in the scene right now.  You could also make an argument against this song even being a single at all if we’re looking at the traditional definitions of what we tend to consider a single to be.  To me, “Lost In Nashville” is a spectacular song on an album that would likely sit somewhere around tracks seven to nine, giving it the kind of depth that will always have you coming back for another spin, because if you’re going to find such extraordinary quality in the later stages of a record like this song has, believe me, you’re coming back to listen to whatever album that may be.  As a standalone single, I’ll be honest with ya…I’m not sure I’m hearing “Lost In Nashville” in the same way that they are with respect to that.  I think there’s a chasm of difference between something that’s fascinating and the kind of hooks that we tend to associate with a ‘single’ by definition.  I mean, heck, “Lost In Nashville” either doesn’t have any hooks whatsoever, or it’s ALL hooks…and I’ll let you decide that for yourselves…neither answer would be wrong, but each suggests that that one standout element you’re looking for…that noticeable spark that we can’t resist that’s an essential ingredient to any song we’d want to put out there as a single…is kinda missing here if I’m being truthful with ya.  Don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely something to be said for consistency, and “Lost In Nashville” is chock-full of that, yes indeed…but it’s that same consistency I can see might work against it too.  Without any tangible dynamics, drifting along dreamily is only going to get you so far with the listening crowd out there from my perspective, though it could still easily earn you a standing ovation when playing a song like this live.

Anyhow.  I suppose that’s how I’m hearing Timeseven this time around.  It’s hard to pick on a song like “Lost In Nashville” that is played with pure commitment and reveals flawless execution in every beat, measure & bar…and trust me, I’m not going out of my way to do anything like that so much as listen to this song on an objective level with respect to how it might be received by the audience of listeners out there.  I like “Lost In Nashville” – and if this song came to me from just about any other source, I might even end up with a slightly higher opinion of it.  As I was tellin’ ya from the start, the standards here are exceptionally high…and when you know you’ve basically loved every other Timeseven tune, to go back for a moment and feel like saying you just like something is a more accurate description can feel like it’s a step in the wrong direction, even when it’s not.  “Lost In Nashville” kind of has the band treading water a little in my opinion…a lateral move that has them staying in place, doing more of what they do so well…and that’s pretty damn hard to complain about.  I’m always going to be interested in listening to more of Timeseven’s tunes, because it’s extremely rare to hear such a committed group of musicians that have the chemistry displayed in Hayden’s hand-picked crew.  “Lost In Nashville” is as steady as it gets and it’s a really good tune, no doubt about it.  The massively high standards and William’s stunning songwriting are always going to have me wanting a great one though…and I’m not entirely convinced this is that.  “Lost In Nashville” will keep your heartrate in-check, or maybe even bring it down a little.

Find out more about Timeseven from the official website at:  https://www.timesevenproductions.com

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