Not since the emergency of rap and rock with the huge hit from Run DMC and Aerosmith has there been a crossover as successful as that of country and rock. UK born and bred, Mr Tom Killner is a prime example of that old time, down home, rock n roll, and he is currently causing a sensation with this new release.
Opening track, Cosmic Sounds sets the tone of the album. Starting strong with a finger picking melody, lyrics that instruct us to believe in our heart song, believe in tomorrow, the Cosmic Sounds within you, will show you the way.
Devil’s Gate picks up the pace with an extremely catchy tale of greed, full of hooks wrapped in a life lesson of one man’s path to the devil, seeking the easy road in a misguided life.
The tracks to follow are each on brand, effortlessly oozing emotion with heartfelt guidance from Tom’s prose. One Day At A Time is a real high point in the album. Harmonica intros then punctuates throughout this ballad, accompanied by keys and beautiful soulful vocals, all embracing a message of enduring friendship, of hope and of love, truly mesmerising in its entirety.
Title track Borrowed Time, provides the ethos of the album. Hard hitting drums and Hammond underpin a heavy riff of blues, whilst the husky, melodic vocal offers the ultimate life lesson. Don’t waste a day, borrowed time is all you’ve got. Second single release, Light It Up is a delicious, fun, rollick, plenty of bar room piano and hooky guitar. Light it up a little brighter, turn it up louder and let the stars take you where you’re meant to be. Again, a message, positivity, a life worth living, give it your all, until you reach your destination.
Borrowed Time is a journey, Tom Killner has weaved together 10 tracks of greatness, each one with hidden depths, retrospective, contemplative, clever. Southern rock, Americana, and Blues, filled with melody and vocal harmonies, hooky Hammond and piano, guitars and drums feature hard but never interrupt the focus, adding to the overall bonhomie to create a pleasing aural trip from start to finish. Borrowed Time may just be the perfect soundtrack to summer days ahead, so grab two fingers of bourbon, sit in the sunshine, and drink it all in.
Words by Viki Ridley