New Tattoo is Tim Hicks’ fourth studio album in the last five years. It’s a 12 track record that takes him to places that we haven’t heard him go before, and that’s a good thing.

Hicks has become one of Canadian country music’s most successful and recognizable acts, bringing amped-up, guitar lead, rockin’ country to audiences across the country since he burst onto the scene with Get By. His energy and accessibility have helped him fill seats at venues of all sizes, and his music has inspired fans to sing and dance and become part of the show every time he plays.

We caught up with Tim on the phone to talk about the album and asked him about trying new things on New Tattoo, and he was happy to tell us that trying new things was a big part of producing the album.

Instrumentally, you’ll find more keyboards than Hicks has ever used before on an album, and there are horns in there too to go along with the rocking guitars he’s known for.

Tim also told us that a big part of making this album was about breaking the mould of what people expect from a Tim Hicks record. He knows that there’s a fine line to walk sometimes between holding onto the things that fans have come to love from you, and not letting things get stale.

What works about New Tattoo is the balance. Fans who have been with him since the beginning, and love what they’ve heard, are still getting that with Loud, Drunk Me, and New Tattoo. And we know that they will raise their (stronger) beers and sing along to those songs just like they have done with Forever Rebels, Here Comes The Thunder, and Hell Raisin’ Good Time. There’s ammunition here for the live set, and that’s a win.

There’s also a song on the album that hits me more personally than most songs do.

The first time we heard Throw A Ball it was stripped down and acoustic at Toronto’s Four Chords And The Truth last November. And I cried. Tim told us that night that his young son had complained that daddy always wrote songs from his sister and mommy, but never for him. So he sat down to do just that. He nailed it.

As a baseball kid, I identify with this song and playing catch with my dad when I was younger. As a guy who lost my dad a year and a half ago, it reminds me of him. I also identify with it as a new dad. When I first heard the song, we were still months away from having our baby, but he was on the way. And the way Tim wove his multi-generational story together, invoking his father and his son, got to me in every single way it could.

I asked Tim about the song, and he told me that he thinks it strikes a chord with people because whether it’s baseball or hockey or any other activity, the story is accessible and easy to connect with. He also told us that it’s 100% true, which makes it even more special to him and his son.

Another highlight on the album for us is Hicks’ duet with Lindsay Ell on The Worst Kind. Ell brings her voice and guitar to the song, and it compliments Hicks perfectly in a dual harmony of vocal and instrument. Hearing the two Canadian stars together on the song is a treat, and if we’re lucky, this one will end up on country radio in high rotation.

He told us that the song wasn’t planned as a duet, but as he and his co-writers worked on the ballad, it clicked for them that the pairing of male and female voices on this song was the way to go. Tim also confirmed that Lindsay Ell was the first choice for the track. He gave love to her for coming and working with him on The Worst Kind, given that her career is blowing up north and south of the border, and that she didn’t have to do it. But she did.

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While we were on the phone with Tim, we asked him about his fans and country music fans in Canada. As the genre has gone through a resurgence and boom in discovered talent, the fan base has grown to support it.

We talked about the last five years and his career and the growth in the genre and fan base since then. He pointed out that when he started, we didn’t have acts like James Barker Band, Madeline Merlo and a long list of artists that are finding success now. He also gave the lion’s share of the credit for that growth and those artists to the fans. Tim said it’s because Canadian fans jumped on the genre with their support and in turn, gave the chance to a new generation of artists to be heard and make their mark.

One of those fans, known to many who are deep in the Canadian country community, is Justine Albrechtas. Justine can often be seen in the meet and greet line, or in the front row at country concerts across Ontario and beyond. And at Thursday night’s New Tattoo album release party, Tim gave her some unexpected love to commemorate her 50th live Tim Hicks show. Her dedication to artists like Tim Hicks is fantastic and vital to the success of the genre. And when we asked Tim about her and other super dedicated fans like her, he told us that they are a big part of the process. Between their social media posts about artists and shows, telling their friends and family about new artists, and overwhelming support for their favourites, they help push everything forward and to new heights.

Tim also said that he loves when he recognizes someone from social media in the meet and greet line and can say hello to them by name. And, he said, he’s especially tickled when they react with surprise that he would know who they are.

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With a summer full of live shows coming up, Tim Hicks doesn’t have a lot of time to sit back and enjoy the fact that New Tattoo has been released to the world.

On Canada Day, Tim will play in London, ON at Trackside Festival, and just four days later he heads to Regina for a performance we had to ask about.

Growing up in the Niagara region, Tim’s local CFL team was the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and this summer, he’ll follow the team to Regina to play as part of the CFL’s Thursday Night Football Concert Series. We asked him about being the road team – and if he’ll hit the stage in a Ti-Cats jersey… he will not, which is probably for the best, because the green rider fans can be very territorial, and Tim Hicks in a Hamilton Tiger-Cats jersey would likely not go well.

We’d talked about it before, but we spent a couple of minutes talking about how great the CFL is and how amazing its fans are, from all teams. Tim also mentioned the sheer size of the Roughrider fan base and how happy he is just to be part of the concert series and to be playing at Mosaic Stadium.

Hicks will wrap the summer concert season as part of the Coors Banquet One Horse Town celebration with Dallas Smith and Kira Isabella. And while we don’t know yet where the concert will be, we’re sure that any of Nicolet, QC, Napanee, ON, Williams Lake, BC, Miramichi, NB, Taber, AB, or Portage la Prairie, MB will be rockin’!

With his fourth full-length studio album, Tim Hicks has once again shown that he belongs in the conversation as one of the top country artists in Canada. His live show will be bolstered by the new material, his fans will have new favourites to hold on to, and Tim Hicks has proved to himself and the country music community that he’s ready, willing, and able to try new things and he can make them work.

Before we finished our call, I asked Tim if there was an overriding message that goes with New Tattoo that he wants to share with his fans and all country music fans. And in just a few words, I think he summed it up perfectly…

“This record” he said, “is really just about having fun and being true to yourself.”

Tim Hicks, New Tattoo Tracklist

1. New Tattoo
2. 1975
3. If The Beat’s Alright
4. What A Song Should Do
5. Loud
6. Gettin’ To Me
7. The Worst Kind (ft. Lindsay Ell)
8. Throw A Ball
9. Easy
10. Best I Can
11. Can’t Take It Away
12. Drunk Me

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Joshua Murray

creator of content, daddy blogger, writer, coffee drinker, fan of the Batman. proud mo bro. prouder dad.