“beautiful song of the week” spotlights “everywhere but up”
“Bryan Rahija’s music put me in mind of wooden skyscrapers for a few reasons. Yes, his 2021 LP was titled Timber, and yes, he’s from the American northwest, one of the most magnificently forested parts of the continent. But there’s also something about the sonic quality of the songs on that album – skillfully crafted, solidly structured – that brings to mind lumber. One song feels like a heavy, oak table. The next feels like a moss-covered wooden treehouse. The record is a forest.”
Guitar Radio show lists timber among top 20 guitar records of 2021
Grabbed the 8 spot!
LAst Rites Lists “Timber” among best albums of 2021
“Each of the songs on this generous and welcoming album feels humble and earned through honest labor. The recording itself is also particularly sumptuous, with the deep resonance of each pluck and strum mic’d so closely that you can almost imagine yourself inside the body of the guitar looking out at the world it creates.”
Songlines ranks “Timber” among 10 best albums of december
Four stars….“quietly compelling and deceptively simple”
Americana UK rates “Timber” 9/10
“9/10. Entrancing fingerstyle guitar instrumentals…what blends Rahija’s various influences into such an original record is his total freedom of expression. Whether ‘Timber’ is played as part of the furniture or studied closely Bryan Rahija brings enormous pleasure and enjoyment. Isn’t that what music is all about?”
Willamette Week spotlights “Timber”
“The 12 tracks on his new album, Timber, are defined by the heartiness and brightness of his tone. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he has little interest in swampy mythology or Southern gothic darkness. He makes his instrument the star, and the spaces he summons with it feel as wide open as Portland’s skies.”