Role Model "Chuck Timely & The Hourglass" Album Review
Sanne Boere & Magda Kanecka | August 2026
Role Model is the stage name of the Maine-born singer-songwriter Tucker Pillsbury.
Following the success of his debut and sophomore albums, and tracks like “Sally (When The Wine Runs Out)”, “Look At That Woman” and “Writing’s On The Wall” achieving chart and social media virality, he is now back with his third album: “Chuck Timely & The Hourglass”!
This one explores themes of identity, love and the struggles that come with both notions. The record is self-critical when it needs to be, but still doesn't sway the listener in either direction.
Today, BRUIT. breaks the album up track-by-track, and talks about what our favourite parts are… Let’s dive in!
Sanne:
Track 1: “Chuck’s Mantra”
Role Model starts his brand-new album with “Chuck’s Mantra”, creating a strong sense of wanting something real, and wanting it soon.
The lyrics are pretty straightforward: when he sings “I want my life to change tonight / Or by morning light”, it sounds like someone genuinely hoping that the next day will feel different. There is also something slightly sad underneath it, especially with the line “time is no friend of mine.” He wants to move forward, but he is also aware that time keeps going whether he is ready for it or not.
What I like most is how much it actually feels like a mantra – as the title suggests. The same ideas keep coming back: wanting something true, wanting change, and not wanting to waste time. It is like Tucker is reminding himself of what he wants until he starts to believe it.
Considering the song was first performed before the album was even released, at the Spanish Primavera Sound Festival on June 6, 2026, and was teased online with the caption “Morning Light,” the mantra turns into a feeling of standing right before a new beginning.
Track 2: “High Hopes 3000”
This is one of those songs that sounds way happier than it actually is. On the surface, it is bright, catchy, and playful, but underneath all of that is someone who feels lonely and stuck in a cycle of trying to find something, or someone, that will make their life feel different.
The opening of the first single, released on 3 June 2026, immediately sets that up with “I end my day the same way it started / Alone in L.A.” There is this constant feeling of him going out, buying new things, meeting people, and trying to make something happen, only to end up back in the same place. This repetition makes it feel like a routine he cannot seem to escape.
In his Genius Verified interview, Pillsbury talks about how lonely and repetitive his life can become when he’s working on an album, and how being desperate for love can actually make it harder to find something genuine; “When I'm in album mode, my life is also very repetitive. There's not much of a social aspect […] Every week, Monday through Friday, you are going to the studio from 11 to 9 p.m. [… ] You know, it is lonely.”
It also makes sense that this was the song Tucker chose to introduce “Chuck Timely & The Hourglass”, because it captures much of the album’s focus on time, and wanting life to move forward. The song was performed for the first time at Primavera Sound as well, only three days after its release.
Track 3: “Song Is All You Get”
To me, there is almost a nostalgic feeling to how Tucker describes a certain night – “Driving the valley in the midnight hour,” “Those Kennebec heat waves, Coca-Cola like an ice cold shower,” and “I wish I had a photograph / To remember the two of us.” It feels like one of those moments that probably seemed small in the moment, but became much bigger once it was over. In this case, Tucker got to turn the memory into a song.
I like how the song doesn’t treat heartbreak as something that has to be devastating. There is a little bit of humour and acceptance mixed into the sadness while he acknowledges that not every connection is supposed to become something bigger: “Sometimes you walk away worse than before, but that’s still something.”
The reference to Tucker’s precursor album, “Kansas Anymore”, in the lyric “And leave your ass singing some crying cowboy song” connects the song to his earlier way of turning failed relationships and lingering feelings into something creative.
Track 4: “Love I You”
The song starts with Tucker admitting that he wants someone so badly that he’s willing to make himself completely vulnerable just to have someone by his side: “I’d sell my foot for some company.”
There’s a funny contrast between how hopeless he sounds and how casually he talks about it. He is tired of being alone and wants someone to stick around, even if he knows he’s a little messy about it. The line “Oh, I could be your ragdoll, babe” makes that desperation even clearer: he’s saying he’d give up all control if it meant finally having someone to love.
What makes “Love I You” stand out to me is the bridge with Dakota Johnson (mostly known as Anastasia in the movie “Fifty Shades of Grey”). After spending most of the song talking about wanting love, suddenly there’s this real, playful conversation happening between them, and it completely changes the mood.
Tucker has previously talked about how difficult it can be to separate his personal life from his music, yet Dakota ended up jumping into the studio and recording the part anyway.
Track 5: “Chasing Midnight”
“Chasing Midnight” feels like one of those nights you already know you’re going to miss while you’re still living it. Tucker tells the story of reconnecting with someone he had a one-night fling with months earlier, knowing that whatever happens between them probably won’t last. There’s something really bittersweet about that, because he knows it's not going to work out, but he’s still willing to take whatever time he can get.
The lyric “We’re a dead end / But, hell, I’ll take what I can get” feels like a big change from the desperation we heard earlier in the album. In “High Hopes 3000,” he’s still looking for someone to change his life, while here, he seems more comfortable accepting that some people are only meant to be around for a night.
The imagery of dancing around the room, knowing the clock is ticking and that she’ll be gone by morning, makes the whole song feel like trying to squeeze as much life as possible out of a moment he cannot keep.
Track 6: “Good Thing”
After loneliness, the desperate need for connection, and the knowingly temporary relationship, this song is Tucker encountering someone who makes him question all of those defences.
He’s immediately unsure of himself: he wonders whether letting somebody in is a mistake, and whether he’s about to repeat all of his old patterns. But underneath all that anxiety, is something surprisingly simple – he genuinely likes this person.
The bridge pushes this further: after seeing enough of the world to become cynical and lose hope, this person somehow makes things feel meaningful again. Even the question “Do I close the door or let you in?” captures the conflict: protecting yourself is safer, but opening the door is how something good can actually happen.
Magda:
Track 7: “Joy”
From the first listen, this track is summer in a song if I’ve ever heard one. A switch-up from the previous track, this one is bouncy, lightweight, with fun and playful lyrics and an almost country-inspired acoustic note in the chorus, which is also the highlight of the song for me.
The opening guitars sound so refreshing that I am convinced it is impossible not to move your body to the rhythm of this song as it plays.
The outro introduces layered background vocals, and as the second single from the album, released on 10 July 2026, “Joy” is what it says on the tin – it's all fun and games (literally), and Tucker knows how to play them exceptionally well on this track.
Track 8: “Service Receipt”
As my favourite songs from this record, this one lingers as more yearning and reflective. I am especially a big fan of the lovey-dovey vibe of the chorus… But don’t be fooled! The lyrics of “Service Receipt” are much more accountable and self-critical than they might appear. Tucker blames himself for the way some of his experiences with people have ended, almost asking for another chance to redeem himself.
Tucker questions, “I try my hand every couple of weeks / Start to question my intentions / Am I doing it for me?” as if worrying over whether he’s with someone for the right reasons. In its sound and especially instrumental, this track maintains a similar vibe to its precursor, “Joy”, only a little more upturned in the verses.
I am firmly of the opinion that this is arguably one of Role Model’s best songs to date, and I promise the “One more night” line in the chorus will be stuck in your head long after the song is over.
Track 9: “Honeydew”
The next track can either be seen as a through-and-through love song or merely Tucker speaking to himself. Regardless of the way you interpret it, the lyrics reflect on ups and downs of chasing success, and it is reassuring, almost, as he sings to "Leave your worries at the door / You're not lonely anymore".
“Honeydew” opens with acoustic guitar strings, which are later accompanied by piano notes, and a noticeable addition of drums halfway through the song. All the elements coming together at different times add to the song’s momentum, while maintaining a gentle vibe throughout.
This song serves as a nice and appropriately timed break in the tracklist, and progresses smoothly onto “Stain”.
Track 10: “Stain”
The jazz influences in the production shine through here, and the key line “It’s a stain I can’t get out” in the chorus sets the direction for the track: everyday inconveniences being used to describe a bigger problem in the narrator’s life.
Once again, the instrumental is lightweight and fun, even when the lyrics aren’t as bubbly. Upon the first listen, I found myself yet again swaying my shoulders to the beat by the first chorus – something Tucker is evidently great at making his listeners do.
He’s brilliant at formulating melodies that are easy to follow and get used to quickly, even when the lyrics don’t call for it, and “Stain” is no different.
Track 11: “The Wedding”
As the album draws to a close, this track delves (as I interpret the lyrics) into societal expectations (as I interpret the lyrics) in a particularly melancholic way.
Tucker discusses not fitting in as time moves and certain things in life are expected of him; as the title suggests, marriage being one of those things. In its sound, “The Wedding” lingers as almost nostalgic, looking back on something fondly even though it has only just happened.
It is uncertainty, complaints and instability all wrapped in a strangely comforting and bittersweet, mostly acoustic melody with light tambourine sounds featured throughout. As the second-to-last track on "Chuck Timely", it feels fitting to have a slower one towards the end.
Track 12: “Harmony”
The closing track of Role Model’s third studio album follows a theme established earlier in the tracklist: looking back on your past, and comparing what you’ve been through with how you are now.
I adore the way the track maintains its core mid-tempo until the explosive chorus, before toning back down in the next verse. This transition makes it exciting for the listener to follow, and is a perfect wrap-up of the themes and production styles on the rest of the album,
A theme I noticed as I was listening to this album for the first time was Role Model purposefully keeping his lyrics fairly ambiguous, as if blurring the lines between talking to himself and/or to another person. This technique makes the album relatable to a broader audience and stays particularly accountable and reflective, which is also refreshing to see in an artist with a growing following.
Full of a mix of upbeat tracks that get you out of your seat, slower ballads to make you pause and think, as well as some chart-climbing bangers, “Chuck Timely & The Hourglass” has something in store for everyone, from casual fans of “Sally”, through to Role Model’s longer-term audience.
I think we can all agree that this record coming out in the middle of summer was one of the best decisions Tucker Pillsbury and his team could have made.
Follow Role Model here!
Listen to "Chuck Timely & The Hourglass" here!
Sanne’s Top Three:
“Service Receipt”
“Honeydew”
“High Hopes 3000”
Magda’s Top Three:
“Service Receipt”
“Song Is All You Get”
“Chasing Midnight”
