The idea of a concept album is both intriguing and frightening. Some of the most acclaimed and lasting albums of all time are concept albums (i.e. Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs), but for all the successful forays into conceptual albums, there are dozens that don’t quite hit the mark. If one thing can be said of songwriter and world-class harpist Timbre’s album Sun & Moon, it is that she fully goes for it. The double-disk album, which is split by the themes of “Sun” and “Moon”, is half-chamber-folk songs and half-classical pieces written for a full orchestra and choir.
Both Timbre’s classical training and her pop sensibility are evident immediately. The only single, “Song of the Sun”, is a beautiful song full of quick melody shifts and instantly catchy hooks, while the second half of the album, while far from radio friendly, shows obvious skill for composition. The album is an investment, not only in time as it runs a whopping 110 minutes, but in the concentration that goes into hearing all the tiny morsels of musical themes within. Timbre follows through on her concept, and though not an instant masterpiece, Sun & Moon is an album that shows an abundance of skill which bodes well for future Timbre work.