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Both the city of Syracuse and Syracuse University have a vibrant music scene, and part of that scene is SU student band The Accountant and All-Thumbs, headed by senior sound recording technology major Eric Timlin.

Timlin started the band his freshman year, and their debut album came out last August. And though the band has a rotating lineup, they’ve been consistent with their music releases and on-stage performances.

Timlin’s goal for the band is to approach live shows as a jam session, rather than a set performance. In turn, it’s led to a collaborative onstage environment no matter who’s performing.

“The Accountant and All-Thumbs was originally me and my buddy,” Timlin said, “Now we have more of a rotating cast as freshmen come in and people graduate.”

The band will release their new EP, “You In Strange Places (Vol. 2),” on Friday, Jan. 24. With four tracks, the EP includes a remix of their popular song “Desert City.” The new EP is the second in a series that the band hopes to continue — songs inspired by Timlin’s location writing. The first EP, “You In Strange Places, Vol. 1,” was released last January.

“I love to try and squeeze emotion and narrative and songs out of a place, and I think that’s where I do some of my best songwriting,” Timlin said.

One of the group’s new songs, “Niagara,” was inspired by a trip that Timlin took with his girlfriend for their one-year anniversary. He said it was an amazing experience for him that he wrote the song on the same night.

All of the music was written and produced by Timlin, but will be performed live with the rest of the band once the EP is officially released. Timlin said he wanted to release more music from the band before he started his capstone, since he’s released music every semester he’s been on campus. This semester couldn’t be the one he missed.

Liam Morrisey, a freshman music education major, is the drummer for the band. He said Timlin’s influence enhances the group’s work, especially with how the singer’s personality shines through on their new songs.

“Eric sets himself apart from other artists because he’s such a unique person,” Morrisey said. “He has his own sense of humor and that really comes through on the tracks.”

The band has a very specific style, with songs ranging from alternative rap to lo-fi, but they all have a distinct Accountant feel. Their new EP won’t be any different.

“I’m always trying to innovate, but I write in a pretty specific way,” Timlin said. “There’s something about them (the songs) that makes them Accountant and All-Thumbs, and if they didn’t have that, I wouldn’t release them.”

SU sophomore Ethan Coburn plays the cello and sings backup vocals. Though he’s more used to playing in traditional classic rock bands, he said he’s very enthusiastic about his time with The Accountant and All-Thumbs. He has more freedom when performing, and enjoys getting into the songs and figuring them out with Timlin.

Timlin and the band look forward to playing the songs live once the EP is released, though they’ll look different when performed at shows. He aims to never have to play with a backing track, preferring instead to have the song be different every time and never let the audience know what to expect.

“There are certain points that we have to hit, but we can space them out and give some of the members solos, or just what we feel like doing in the moment,” Timlin said.

Looking forward, Timlin is aiming to write more subtle music, tracks that he can just play bass and sing with, as he considers what it’ll be like performing without a band. Some of the tracks on the new EP were inspired by this mindset.

“There’s a point where I’m going to graduate,” Timlin said, “and I’ve kind of been thinking about what my show looks like without a band.”

Published on January 21, 2025 at 10:11 pm