Timothy Nelson releases nostalgic 70s-infused single 'Hold Your Hair'

Photo Credit: Penny Lane

Dubbed “Perth’s favourite ginger fro’ed songsmith” by X-Press Magazine, Timothy Nelson is a multi-award-winning artist who blends 70s folk rock with 90s power pop. With an abundance of WAM (West Australian Music) 'Song of the Year' awards and successfully spending 2023 completing 'A New Song Every Week' in a YouTube series, his exceptional talent and prolific output are indisputable. Building to this forthcoming sophomore album Debaser Tapes, he unveils a brand new euphonious 70’s infused folk-pop single; Hold Your Hair.

Releasing his critically acclaimed debut solo album Words Like Young in 2016, hailed a “brilliant solo debut” by TheMusic.com.au, and “a wonderfully personal, yet inviting release” by Rolling Stone, Debaser Tapes is the highly anticipated follow-up that is set to be released in full on the 16th of October, 2024. 

The latest single to be announced from it, Hold Your Hair, is a sentimental daydream. Rooted in its strong narrative, the track's free-flowing structure allows for it to gradually build, twist, and soar to euphoric levels sonically as it progresses. Starting with just a beautifully intertwined acoustic guitar and bass line, Hold Your Hair transforms into a Bee Gees level of vocal harmony perfection before hitting you with an epic Eagles-style electric guitar solo to see the song out.  

On the release Nelson shares, “I wrote this in the States a few years back… I was over there, in the middle of this sort of, ‘summer of yes’ vibe I guess, going from LA, to Portland, to Nashville and back over a few weeks. Now, I did have some music related plans while I was there, but there was a lot of time spent just drifting around, seeing where I ended up. Some friends and I were out in East Nashville one night, and I was in a real mood to go crazy but for whatever reason we just hit all the wrong places. Half empty sports bars, people just standing around. This dragged on into the following evening… At one place I was watching a band play, and this girl started talking to me, and took me to some club where they were playing Prince songs all night and it was just going off. I remember feeling a sense of relief as we walked in. I wrote the song on my guitar the next morning, and I changed it from Prince to Duran Duran because it rhymed better. Sorry Prince. It’s a short little snapshot I guess. And maybe due to the state I was in, the song plays out like a kind of fever dream… that’s why I ended it with the finger clicks, to snap out of it. Also, I was staying in an Airbnb where they wouldn’t let you use the kitchen, so perhaps it’s so short because I was starving by the time I got to the chorus. That’s about as much as I can probably say about this one. Oh, and the fact that the guitar solo took me forever to be able to play in the studio, so you better give it your full attention when you listen.”

Recorded with Andy Lawson at Debaser Studios (Eskimo Joe, Little Birdy, Foam), the wait for Debaser Tapes is almost over, with only one more track to be unveiled before the full LP is released this October. In the meantime, fans can expect some incredible and intimate live clips over on Timothy Nelson’s YouTube channel. 

Timothy Nelson’s Hold Your Hair is out now.

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