Tim Fite "Gone Ain't Gone" (Anti-)
By Peter A. Holden
Friday. Sep 23, 3:17 AM
Unmistakably urban cut-and-paste hip-hop folk (!?).

Imagine for a second that Pete Yorn and Jeff Tweedy are brothers. This would of course be some musically well-endowed family. Jeff would be the older, wiser, more experienced brother, country-folk rocking his way into rock ‘n’ roll’s legendary upper echelons. Weathered and road-worn, but still incredibly important. Pete would be the folky rock ‘n’ roller: a bit more bite, panache, and flair to his style; slightly edgier and prettier in appearance, but still making a viable contribution musically. Following close behind would be the lesser known little brother, Tim Fite. Tim picks up where his brothers left off. Firmly planting a foot in the deep pools of folk/country rock stylings, Tim’s avant-garde, downright irreverent manner would, however, jar the sensibilities of most Cat Stevens or Willie Nelson fans. Yet the care he places into each song’s craft and his choice of the stylistic elements would make any country musician proud. But there is one big secret that makes him stand out the most from his musical brethren mentioned above… we’ll get to that in a minute.

What defines Tim Fite’s sound is a signature form of southern hip-hop folk. This is not to say he raps all over the record. Far from it. He gracefully infuses rhythmic vocal moments into many of his tracks that can only be described as “urban” in quality. Fite is at one moment the musical heir to Hank Williams, the next a rebellious punk who samples a polyrhythmic speech pattern. Where songs like “Little Bit” accompany us as we drift down the bayou toward the county fair, “If I Had a Cop Show” reminds us he’s not going to allow us to sit still in one mode for long. Edgy and attitude infused, Fite spits forth a bevy of vocal pronouncements from track to track. Just to shake things up, he continually shifts musical gears so as to not allow us to think he’s ever gone completely soft. Country and folk songs tend to ease your ears quite often. Cursing tends to stir the brain back into focus when you feel like you’re drifting too deeply into passive listening. Musical speed bumps, you might call ‘em. No reason to let people take the easy road, Fite seems to suggest.

Jarring, however, does not seem to be Tim’s overall intention. From every well placed beat, guitar strum, and vocal double, you get the impression that “intention” is what this man is all about. He wants to craft good songs, but adds a flair here and there to spice it up and show that he isn’t all subdued folk-rocker. Now: that secret I mentioned above. Well, guess what, most of Tim Fite’s songs are cut-jobs. He samples and steals from all sorts of bargain-basement albums to craft and create his tracks. After he has saddle-stitched this composite together, and found the orchestration he wants, he adds his own instrumentation. Acoustic guitars, random machines, and of course his unique vocal element. In the end, what Fite does could be chastised, but then again, by whom? Crappy indie rockers who say they “write” their own songs, even though everybody ends up ripping each other off anyway? Or electronic musicians who do precisely what Tim’s doing, only they live in the mainstream? I commend the man for doing it far cheaper and far simpler. And you know what? The end product is excellent.
www.timfite.com
www.anti.com

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Peter A. Holden

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