Time Being [Digipak]

Performer: Ron Sexsmith
Engineer: David Boucher; David Boucher
Producer: Mitchell Froom; Mitchell Froom
Distributor: Fontana Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Ron Sexsmith (vocals, guitar); Ron Sexsmith (guitars); David Farragher (vocals, bass guitar, background vocals); Val McCallum (guitar, guitars, background vocals); Mitchell Froom (keyboards); Pete Thomas (drums, percussion). Audio Mixer: David Boucher. Recording information: "Froom And Board", Santa Monica, CA. Photographer: Michael Davidson. Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith began turning out thoughtful, melodic, and beautifully made pop-folk albums in the mid 1990s, and with his own formidable songwriting skills and Mitchell Froom's atmospheric production he created quiet, hauntingly catchy gems. Froom produced 2006's TIME BEING as well, and the team lose none of their magic here. The mood is intimate, warm, and affecting, and Sexsmith's songwriting is top-notch, as usual. The tunes are smartly crafted and heartfelt and the melodies are lyrical and immediately appealing, but repeated listens will reveal the true sophistication and durability of the songs. Time Being reunites the Canadian singer/songwriter with producer Mitchell Froom. As the man behind the glass for almost all of Sexsmith's work in the mid- to late '90s, Froom adapted his rhythmic, hyper-compressed production style to the singer's laconic pop confections with both grace and restraint, resulting in some of the decade's craftiest and coolest adult alternative rock. Like all Ron Sexsmith albums, Time Being is reliable and expertly crafted, and contains a handful of cuts that will kick around in your head until the next one swoops in to replace them. Both Froom and Sexsmith rarely deviate from their chosen styles, so to hear them working together again is both a comfort and a curse. Songs like "Hands of Time," "I Think We're Lost," and the nostalgic "All in Good Time" are all classic Sexsmith (characters looking for that elusive balance between melancholy and hope amidst midtempo acoustic landscapes), but one can't help but wish that he'd stir in a few more songs like "The Grim Trucker" into the pot. A surprising and enigmatic tale of culinary existentialism where Sexsmith adopts a mischievous Ray Davies croon over a serpentine, White Album-era Beatles-sounding arrangement, it offers the listener a glimpse into the kaleidoscope where Sexsmith fishes around for ideas. One hopes that next time around he embarks on a full tour. ~ James Christopher Monger

Entertainment Weekly (p.81) - "[I]t offers lots of the usual low-key beauty, as Sexsmith's wistful tenor drifts above shimmering guitar arpeggios." -- Grade: B+ Alternative Press (pp.136-137) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "TIME BEING directs attention straight to Sexsmith's strengths: his comforting croon; Paul McCartneyesque melodies and wise, sometimes witty words..."

Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith's debut album arrived with a bang in 1995, trumpeted by the likes of Elvis Costello, and boasting a modern-day equivalent to the work of '60s pop visionaries like Brian Wilson and Harry Nilsson. Sexsmith's fragile voice and complex melodies flew in the face of lowest-common-denominator top 40, but he was immediately embraced as an important and gifted artist. Commercially he hasn't fared as well, shifting from label to label, but his creative fire remains undiminished.

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