Tim Scott

Better order a shot before last call because Tim Scott’s second album, Rarely Fall is gonna touch places you forgot were tender. After the first guitar riff, there you are in his makeshift Denton, Texas studio, beer in hand listening to his stories as he scribbles lyrics on the back of a receipt. His voice soft and sad, or gravelly and mad as hell, while confessing things you thought only you went through.

Though Fabletown’s sense of adventure is still there, Rarely Fall lays bare the dark, smoky intimate side of lost love, longing and jealousy. “Fabletown was written in third person as a concept album dealing with life through storytelling,” explains Tim. “I felt that the time was right to bring the listener to where I was when I wrote these songs—a more personal place.”

Tim sings of loves that failed, “Silk will lose its softness while it unweaves” and the one he hopes will last, “Should I wake, with you beside me, in my arms come morning light. I will offer up this simple prayer in hopes this lonely man finally got it right.” Sound familiar? That’s because honesty like this is sometimes only seen in the mirror the morning after. But it’s here on 11 expertly crafted tracks that take you from a ship bound for WWII to a kitchen floor conversation between two old friends. And “Suddenly a flood of stories flow when the levee breaks.”

His process is a lot like chipping at a levee, note by note, until he’s deluged with ideas. “I don’t know where the songs come from actually, or how and when they will appear. I just head out to the studio, pick up one of my guitars and start playing,” says Tim. “If I find a chord progression I like, the words just seem to write themselves.”

Though Rarely Fall takes a candid look at past mistakes, it also acknowledges lessons learned and looks to the future. In the title song, Tim takes his place among those who have come before him—the ones who supported and guided him on his journey. As the tracks unfold, you can tell who they are—Dan Fogelberg, John Lennon, George Harrison and Warren Zevon. The lyrics say it all, “So I spin another story like those before I still raise my pen…There’s a common thread between us though we often stumble, we rarely fall.” That common thread is the ability to take a handful of words, a few chords and a shitload of honesty to grab people right where they live. Tim’s got it down good.

If you can’t get enough of Tim live, Rarely Fall is the closest you’ll get outside of jumping in the truck and paying a cover charge. The album is just as raw and moody as the live show, and you get the benefit of Erik Herbst’s genius mixing and engineering. “From day one in the studio, Erik and I knew exactly where we wanted to go with this project,” Tim explains. “It was both strange and very cool that after only a few discussions and the time it took to lay down and listen to the demos, I knew we were going to capture the mood and feel that I wanted.” Tim plays rhythm guitar and sings all lead and background vocals backed by drums, bass, keyboard, pedal steel guitar, fiddle and the sad, sweet sound of the mandolin. It’s almost last call—better order that shot, get yourself a copy of Rarely Fall and a couple for your ex-lovers.