Album Review: Tim Hicks, Talk to Time

Tim Hicks’ reputation as the consummate good ol’ boy with more than a smidge of studio prowess up his sleeve is in full evidence on Talk to Time, the country brawler’s fifth studio album which announces its presence through gale-force guitar solos on most tracks, elbowing the album decidedly towards rock.

Hicks’ lyrical themes match the oomph of this expanded sound. Witness single “Dodge Out of Hell,” a towering, fret-fired scorcher depicting a young woman fleeing an abusive relationship. “Whiskey Does” — possibly the “he said” side of the “she said” story chronicled in “Dodge Out of Hell?” — checks the requisite booze-and-heartbreak box and is superbly buoyed by pedal steel. The hoe-down continues with “High Rollers” which could be Hicks’ retirement fund if it captures the ears of a savvy marketing rep for an online casino. “Young and Dumb” appealing celebrates the innocent days of old. And the conceptually novel ballad “Loved Them First” — toasting the small but meaningful habits we inherit from influential others — shows that for all his ballsy bluster, Hicks is as sweetly nostalgic as the rest of us. Well, aw shucks.

Talk to Time was released September 2, 2022.
Listen to it here.