Timothy “Tim” Buckley, father of Jeff Buckley was a contemporary of Nick Drake and Leonard Cohen songbook admirer. Jeff Buckley famously covered Cohen’s Hallelujah at club Sin-e. Both father and son died well before their time. The considerable creative output from both gives us a legacy to pull from even with their relatively brief time on the planet.
This song flows like a fever dream. It opens with the gentle terror of something creeping in—“The tigers come at four / Shaped like the curtains and the floor”—and from that moment, the listener suspends between reality and reverie. These “tigers” aren’t predators in the jungle; they’re emotional presences, shapeshifting memories, and the ghostly forms pain can take as it weaves into domestic life.
KCRW
UK soul singer Michael Kiwanuka took some time after the release of his acclaimed debut to figure out what he really wanted to say next