May 19th saw the release of Tim Wheatley’s newest effort Shiny Tacoma. Don’t let the fact it’s only 4 songs make you think its a quick trip to the end as each song tells their own separate story. Recorded engineered and mixed the EP with Steve Schram in picture-esque Byron Bay at Rockinghorse Studios you cannot help but wonder how that location helped evolved these tracks

Shiny Tacoma kicks off the EP, and its raw unaffected vibe gets you right from the opening notes. any imperfection in the track are left and make it totally perfectly imperfect. The songs story is told from a place in the heart and backed with bold and strong guitars which makes it the perfect opener

California Tree lets you see the tongue in cheek side to Wheatley and when he new that it was time to move on from LA. Its brooding and sarcastic but without drawing the song to an overly dark place.

 ‘Coattail Rider,’ moves the focus to Tim’s time in London. The upbeat almost in your face nature conjures up an image of drinks around the campfire or around a piano in an old London pub.

May 19th also saw the release of the Audiobook of Tim’s father Glenn Wheatley’s biography Paper Paradise. Originally released in 1999 the new audio version was recorded by Glenn himself and true to his never give up nature, completed shortly before his passing in February 2022. So it makes sense for Tim to close out the EP with his version of Masters Apprentices “Because I Love You”, and its remains true to its original form while also being updated with a new life breathed into it.

I love the fact the EP is hard to pigeonhole. Some may call it Alt-Country, some may call it Americana, but its 110% Tim Wheatley and well worth the listen. As is the great chat we had with Tim below.