Search - Kate Walsh :: Tim's House

Timeless quality to her tunes.

power | London, UK | 01/29/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The 24-year-old guitarist recorded her album in a friend's bedroom and named it "Tim's House" in his honour.

Ignored by mainstream press and radio, "Tim's House" is the latest example of an artist - and an album - bypassing the traditional publicity routes and finding success by word of mouth on the internet.

The homemade album has proved in UK a unexpected hit with iPod fans who had downloaded it from the iTunes website in their thousands - knocking Take That and Kaiser Chiefs from the top spots.

Walsh has risen from nowhere to top the iTunes charts - ironic, considering she doesn't own an iPod.

Hailing from Burnham On Crouch in rural Essex, Walsh also claims not to have turned on her telly since July 2005.

You can kind of hear it in her music, which seems untouched by modern life, and her voice, which is as calm and unfettered as the late Eva Cassidy's.

It's not even remotely revolutionary: "Tim's House" is delicately poised, composed of gentle strums, brush pats on a snare drum and Kate's whisper. But that's the only platform she needs, because in these quiet moments a power resides - a bruised intensity that creeps from beneath pretty tunes.

There's a timeless quality to the songs too - especially the gorgeous "Your Song and Goldfish" - and the subtle, warm production.

If you're searching for Britain's answer to Norah Jones, look no further."