ALL ABOUT THE TIMING is the debut album from Roland Roberts and on the evidence of the content he has just got that about right, well at least in the context of landing a ready made record into the laps of folks who will love his style. This is one where a country ramble gentle rolls along blending crafted musicianship with tight songwriting to tip your hat to those who have laid the path for the wise and informed to follow.
This 10-song strong album kicks off with the cracking tune 'Beautiful Soul' blessed with the most luscious of chorus melodies that plants remnants of Kacey Musgraves' 'Merry Go Round'. A blast of harmonica introduces 'Picture on the Wall' and stays the duration as we head into traditional seventies singer-songwriter mode. The sort of sound that a sold shed load in the day. 'Wake Up' is a little darker with the definitive line 'you wear desperation like a bad cologne', while the opening quartet ends on one of the album's standout songs 'Sittin' in Nebraska'. This is the type of track that attracts people to the quintessential folk-Americana genre from afar with a canny reference to missing a Tyler Childers show adding to the charm.
The core of the album starts with the dreamy country ballad 'Don't Tell Me Goodbye' ably assisted by the introductory tones of pedal steel and later on some fiddle. What else do you need for a good ole sadness tinged love song. 'Rambling Joe' heralds the album's second half with hoe down sensibilities and a wry wit to spread a carefree attitude. The type of song to strengthen an album heavily bent on reflecting a sound born from the wide open spaces and delivered perfectly to more populous surroundings. The title track completes the album core with Roberts proudly displaying a philosophical side while in full John Prine tribute mode. 'It's all about the timing, it's not about the plan' attempts to portray what life can be away from pressures of conformed modernity.
Another blast of steel leads off the final trio with 'Being Me' demonstrating a sound being honed and perfected. This being seriously impressive melodic songwriting encapsulating all that is enriching in a country sound decorated with folk and Americana trappings. 'Lonely Blues' is a penultimate showstopper expressing exactly what it says on the tin. Another essential ingredient of an album courting fans of this style. Bringing up the rear is another Roberts ear worm, an effect ingeniously practised across a limited template. At this point 'Keep Moving' On' seals the likeness to Tyler Childers, a move from a lyric in an earlier song to one derived from listener assertion.
Roland Roberts re-affirms what is special about a sound and style cemented years ago and powering into the future in the arms of talented progressive operators. ALL ABOUT THE TIMING is a critically appealing body of work and shows that sometimes thirty minutes is all you need to sell your wares effectively.
