Music
Press
1. Hot Nails by Time Hammer
Full disclosure, my roommate is Travis Beck, one of the two insane blondes in front of Time Hammer. The band also practices in my basement every Tuesday and several Sundays. So this is obviously a conflict of interest on my part and I should be banned from ever writing about local music again.
Quite the opposite, actually. Time Hammer songs rumble the floors of my home on a regular basis, like right now when I’m trying to write this article. Beck plays the album for visitors in its entirety almost once per day. I’ve heard it so many times since it came out in early summer that I should be sick of every note.
But I’m not. On the contrary. It gets a little bit funkier every time I hear it. Every time I listen to Hot Nails, I’m more impressed by Stewart Hehn’s basslines, or Connor Goertzen’s deft scratching, or Joe Younglove’s real-life-white-boy raps.
This ain’t '90s rap metal. This is more Beastie Boys than Limp Bizkit (thankfully), and they rage against the machine harder than you may first think. Oh, and most importantly, it’s damn funky. Listen and listen well. Hot Nails is worth it. - HearNebraska
“Time Hammer: Party rock far beyond anything LMFAO can ejaculate. This kind of rocking takes patience, planning and a killer dress, which singer/guitarist/drummer/whatever Joe Younglove was wearing with class. Time Hammer is in your face without being pushy.
You want them there. You want to party with them. You want their warm, sticky party rock all over you and in every orifice you possess. This is hypnotism. You will wake up the next time you hear Time Hammer and then be put right back under their spell. It’s just what they do. And they do it well.”-Casey Welsch, hearnebraska.org - HearNebraska
“Local band, Time Hammer, graced the music world with their debut album “Hot Nails.,” which was released on June 9. Though the album is only five tracks long, it makes the most of every rock-infused, indie hip-hop beat. The fun rhythmic antics will keep endorphins pumping, heads bobbing and bodies jumping the whole way through.
Stylistically, Time Hammer sounds a little reminiscent of bands like Rage Against the Machine but with their own distinct flavor for fluidity and they don’t resort to industrial rigidness. Although it’s an absolute treat to see Time Hammer live, fans won’t be disappointed by the opportunity to take a part of that experience home.
Press play and the album kicks in the groove with “The Falls” which opens with a funky distorted bass line and progresses with hard-hitting rhymes. It even falls into a brief ‘80s metal-esque bridge. The quirky lyrics are both humorous and thought-provoking. Lines such as, “It’s time to dance and forget about your worries, time is irrelevant now so don’t be in a hurry…” keep the album upbeat despite the socially tongue-in-cheek message. The song “I’m Gonna Lose My Mind (On My Blog),” which takes its aim on everything that trends, is both socially pointed and humorous.
Overall this album is the result of hard work by a very talented group of individuals and every nuance flows together nicely. The heavy drum-and-bass-driven sound many not be for everyone – but for most, Time Hammer is well worth a listen. Check out timehammer.bandcamp.com for upcoming performances and a chance to get “Hot Nails” for yourself.” - Joe Wade, Daily Nebraskan - Daily Nebraskan
“Hot Nails,” the five-song EP from Time Hammer, brings to mind the early Beastie Boys -- and that’s a very, very good thing. Fat, funky and funny, the EP is brilliantly entertaining, smarter than smart and sounds great, rocking hard with real bass and drums churned into a beat-heavy mix by producer Charlie Johnson.
There’s not a dud on the disc, from here-we-are opener “The Falls” that name-drops NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon through the metal-meets-hip-hop of Travis Beck’s college-boy rap “Fountainhead” and the screaming rap/rock of “Wildflowers” that reclaims that dead genre.
In the middle are a pair of gems from Joe Younglove, “I Like 2 Rap,” which talks about making sandwiches and having coffee at The Mill, and the should-be-a-hit “I’m Gonna Lose My Mind (On My Blog),” which sends up the Internet life.” - Lincoln Journal Star
Discography
2011 - A Brief History of Time Hammer...(Demo)
2012 - Hot Nails EP
Photos
Bio
Time Hammer is a rap-rock four-piece making music in the tradition of the Beastie Boys, Beck, Gorillaz and Rage Against the Machine. But the Lincoln, Nebraska-based quartet’s sound is all their own.
The foundation of that sound is the driving drum & bass combo of Stewart Hehn (bass, vocals), and Travis Beck (drums, vocals), who throb hypnotically funky beats into the solar-plexuses of listeners with equal parts grace and intensity. Laid on top of this foundation are Joe Younglove’s (guitar, drums, vocals) rhythmic raps and Conner Goertzen’s (turntables) deftly sharp scratches. The band arranges sound with complex precision, revealing a dedication to sonic perfection by everyone on board, not to mention an undeniable chemistry.
Time Hammer’s lyrical style is suitably collaborative—an all-inclusive free-for-all that jibes with the Ritalin generation’s stream of consciousness. The band explores pop culture and contemporary youth as thematic concerns, delivering their playful raps with a satirical, knowing sneer that gives way to blasts of raw vocal energy. Their irreverence masks a subtle commentary on the media-saturated, social networking world they’ve inherited. They release their disaffection in snarky barbs, rat-a-tat profanity and cathartic wails, but fun is ultimately the order of the day.
The band’s aesthetic speaks for a hodgepodge of Top Forty® doused in enough punk to render it pure, which is conducive to the implied mission statement of their shows: move your ass, have some fun.
Time Hammer plays regularly in Lincoln and Omaha, Neb., and is currently planning a fall tour in support of their much-praised five-song EP “Hot Nails.”
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