After more than five years, Tim Foljahn has returned with a stunning new solo album, I Dreamed a Dream, being released May 7 by Cart/Horse Records as a digital download, CD, 12” vinyl LP and via streaming platforms.
I Dreamed a Dream reunites Foljahn with noted producer/engineer/mixer Tom Beaujour (Juliana Hatfield, Nada Surf, Jennifer O’Connor) who worked on Tim’s previous releases Fucking Love Songs (Kiam, 2015) and Songs for an Age of Extinction (Kiam, 2012). Beaujour and Foljahn’s producer-musician relationship has evolved into something just short of telepathy; as Tim has refined his writing, singing, and playing, Tom has continued finding the perfect means of complementing him sonically.
Recording occurred off and on over the past several years at Beaujour’s New Jersey-based Nuthouse studio. It took a while as Tim was busy filming episodes of the hit show Orange Is the New Black, appearing as a member of “Sideboob,” Assistant Warden Caputo’s bar band, not to mention pursuing his Master’s degree in psychoanalysis.
Foljahn’s decades as a highly in-demand studio and on-stage guitarist and ever more accomplished and sophisticated songwriter crystalize on this new album. His trademark songcraft, guitar expertise, and seamless genre change-ups are all present and accounted for, but now imbued with an added sense of depth and beauty. The “dream of life” is a recurring lyric theme, along with disillusionment, and ultimately resurrection. The album is mature, vital. Tim not only draws from his many vaunted experiences in music, but from the ever-shifting world around him.
Although he’s released solo work for over a decade, Tim has always thrived on collaboration. He put out five diverse and critically-acclaimed albums as Two Dollar Guitar with Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley and a rotating cast of bandmates. His distinctive guitar stylings have graced records by Cat Power, Half Japanese, Thurston Moore, and many others; he has performed live on stage with greats such as Townes Van Zandt and Boredoms. For I Dreamed a Dream, Foljahn reconvened with two longtime Two-Dollar teammates: bassist/arranger Jeremy Wilms (TV on the Radio, Julian Velard, etc.) and the internationally renowned Danish / Spanish / New York vocalist Christina Rosenvinge (who’s worked with Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth as producer). On drums is the sublime Brian Kantor (Fruit Bats, Vetiver), who also contributed to Fucking Love Songs.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the video for “Ghost Ripper,” a clear standout on the new album that showcases the rhythm section of Wilms and Kantor, both of whom anchor the loping groove. With a haunting, gothic Americana sound and vocals that bring to mind the Handsome Family, the song is a mysterious affair that incorporates elements of surf rock, rockabilly, and the feeling of darkened lounge lined with plush red leather booths. Foljahn also unleashes two killer solos in between verses, putting his subtle yet sharp guitar skills on display. All of this is set to trippy visuals that bring to mind the kind of red lit dive bar where this music would fit right in.
Foljahn describes the inspiration behind the tune:
“‘Ghost Ripper’ is a weird song because it drifts from internal to external dialogue. It is a mildly psychotic perspective. The video was attempting to capture the vibe of the music rather than the lyrics, but ended up conjuring the dream state psychedelia of the story as well. That surreal dreaminess and its infiltration of reality is where the whole album lurks.”
WATCH:
Photo credit:Caryn Palmier
