Texas Platters

Barbara Kooyman

Undercover: The Songs of Timbuk 3 (Sparrows Wheel)

Most folks have relegated Austin's Timbuk 3 to the bright and shiny nostalgia heap of I Love the 80s, and while it doesn't set out to, Undercover proves just how wrong that designation is. Barbara Kooyman, formerly Barbara K, revisits her former band's catalog, and with only her voice and an acoustic guitar, she breathes startling new life into their still relevant political and social consciousness. Undercover is Kooyman's response to the funding crisis of public radio, and her new label, Sparrows Wheel, promises 100% of its profits to stations nationwide. Some of Undercover's 10 tunes may be more familiar than others. There's the acerbic "Just Another Movie," the pensive yet playful wordplay of "B Side of Life," the frank irony of "National Holiday," and the stinging observations of "Big Shot in the Dark," each track a testament to the penetrating insight and tuneful skill of Kooyman's ex-husband, Pat MacDonald. Surprisingly, while performed under such stark conditions, the power of these songs isn't diminished. That's Kooyman's gift. With a near whisper, she allows the listener to get intimate and comfortable with her mystical vibrations, yet she never strays from her mission of reminding the listener to think.