"Tim Bowness finds solace in examining enforced solitude during 'Late Night Laments,' dismissing any thoughts of comparison to Steven Wilson's success"
Tim Bowness's Latest Album, Late Night Laments, Delves into Big and Bleak Topics
Tim Bowness, the cult artist with a devoted fanbase, has released his sixth solo album, Late Night Laments. The nocturnal record exists in a cocoon, sealed off from the world outside, yet it addresses big, bleak topics like death, loss, failure, rejection, missed opportunities, and unfulfilled promise.
Late Night Laments was finished the day lockdown was announced, and many of the songs were written late at night or early in the morning. The final track on the album, One Last Call, was the first thing Bowness wrote for the project. It was inspired by the intricate yet stark spy novels of John le Carré.
The album is populated by the dead and the dying, the rejected and the lost. Northern Rain, an elegiac, bittersweet portrait of an elderly couple in the grip of dementia, was written years or decades after Bowness sat with elderly people in care homes, listening to their stories and soaking up inspiration for future songs. The song is a tribute to his father's and stepmother's health conditions.
Bowness's post-NHS musical career has been the ultimate slow-burner. After passing through a handful of 80s bands of varying artiness and sartorial extravagance, he found a kindred spirit and fellow musical traveller in Steven Wilson in No-Man. Before that, his brief tenure on hip indie label One Little Indian in the early 90s is the closest Bowness has ever come to mainstream recognition.
Since then, Bowness has existed on the fringes, seemingly happy to be viewed as a cult artist. He has a very successful label-come-mail order website in Burning Shed. His music podcast, The Album Years, with Steven Wilson, bears out the claim that Wilson is the only person more obsessive than Bowness.
Tim Bowness is a self-professed news junkie, and his interest in current affairs often seeps into his music. Late Night Laments is too warm to be depressing, but there's a rip tide of desolation just beneath the surface. As of now, Bowness doesn't know what direction his future music will take, which is unusual for him.
Bowness's friendship with Peter Hammill, a key part of his teenage years, has also influenced his music. The two have become friends and occasional collaborators, living in neighboring villages near Bath. Despite his success, Bowness remains humble and approachable, making him a beloved figure in the music industry.
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