It was last month that Tim Ainslie & The Vibes drifted onto my radar through his atmospheric track, Oyster Reach. I enjoyed it so much, that I knew I had to give their new album a spin too. It’s called No Regrets.

By Graeme Smith

‘New’ is, perhaps, not the right word as No Regrets was originally put to record as Pint Half Full in 2018. Still, the album has been meticulously remixed and remastered by engineer Jim Griffiths at Principal Audio to create its updated version, and is available on streaming services for the first time.

The quirky Pint Half Full gets the album going through a wonderful cavalcade of audio textures. Chanting vocals tell its simple but philosophical story of optimism and pessimism.

From there we get nine more unconventional wonders. Tim counts Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ian Dury, Cory Wong, Brian Setzer, and Ella Fitzgerald among his influences and the eclectic nature of that list certainly comes through in this album. There’s definitely a lot of Drury’s folksy spoken-word style across the album.

Highlights include the groovy If I Knew Then, the funky and soul-searching Ain’t No Turning Back, lively title track No Regrets and the aforementioned Oyster Reach which closes the album in driving, folksy style.

Tim Ainslie & The Vibes are an act who aren’t afraid to do things differently and have a uniqueness that I can really get behind. What’s more, their new album is a truly joyful yet thought-provoking listen.

No Regrets is out now and you can give it a listen below.