Tim Minchin Time Machine Review – 11 Tracks Reimagined with Heart & Craft

By AJ Hanson · 4 min read

Any good Tim Minchin Time Machine review should begin with a warning: these aren't "new" songs—but they might be the most emotionally resonant versions he’s ever released. Time Machine is Tim's way of giving his old material the studio, arrangements, and voice it always deserved.

It's not nostalgia. It's restitution. These 11 tracks—written in his 20s—have been reborn with modern production, older, wiser vocals, and zero corporate sheen. The piano remains the spine, the humor still lurks under the surface, but what's emerged is a self-portrait, sketched across decades, now fully inked in.

The Tracklist for Time Machine:

Understand It
I Wouldn’t Like You
Ruby
The Song of The Masochist
You Grew On Me
Dark Side
Pop Song
Moment of Bliss
Rock n Roll Nerd
If All You Ever Had Was Love
Not Perfect

Track-by-Track Breakdown of Time Machine

Understand It

Opens with a clean, unpretentious arrangement—sets the tone for the rest of the record. Honest. Sharp. No padding.

I Wouldn’t Like You

Feels like a polite middle finger. Witty, bitter, and entirely self-aware. One of the few tracks where you can hear his younger self punching through the polish.

Ruby

Gentler than you'd expect. There’s warmth in how he sings it now—like the sarcasm wore off and left real affection.

The Song of the Masochist

Theatrical and weird—in the best way. You hear traces of *Matilda* here, but with a more personal bite. The mix is tight and unsettling in all the right places.

You Grew On Me

This is the emotional center of the album. His delivery on this version is… devastating. The studio treatment elevates it from a live favorite to something cinematic.

Dark Side

Tim at his most chaotic-good. There’s a bit of *Rocky Horror* energy here—camp meets self-loathing. The instrumentation finally matches the concept.

Pop Song

The most tongue-in-cheek track. Satirizes commercial music while secretly being catchy as hell. It’s meta. It’s Minchin. It works.

Moment of Bliss

A quieter entry, but deceptively cutting. Sounds like it was recorded during a late-night whisky session. Sparse. Real.

Rock n Roll Nerd

The new version hits different. It’s less of a joke now and more of a confession. One of the rare cases where production actually deepens the original intent.

If All You Ever Had Was Love

Probably the most “grown-up” track here. You can feel the years in his delivery—in a good way. There’s tenderness where there used to be cleverness.

Not Perfect

Closes the album like it always should have. Feels like an epilogue, not a finale. You won’t cry. But you might sit there quietly for a few minutes afterward.

Minchin, But Mature

If you’re looking for jokes per minute, skip it. This isn't Tim Minchin: The Musical. It’s an artist sitting with his past work, not trying to reinvent it—just honor it. And in a music industry obsessed with reboots, this one actually earns it. Want more left-field retrospectives like this? Check out our look at Why Mid-Tier Studios Are Winning. Or browse the Ctrl Issues review archive

TL;DR – (For The Skippers) Time Machine Review

What it is: 11 songs Tim wrote in his 20s, professionally recorded in his 40s.
What it’s not: A stand-up album or tour soundtrack.
Vibe: Self-aware, emotionally raw, sometimes absurd, often beautiful.
Skip if : You're only here for punchlines.
Play if: You want to feel something, even if you don’t know what.

Overall, Tim Minchin’s Time Machine is thoughtful, witty, and emotionally resonant; it’s a retrospective with songs that hits harder now than it did then. If you're a fan of his work, just hit play. You won't regret it. If you're new here, perhaps think about checking out some of his other works before diving in.