I started
following Butch Walker on Twitter because of other musicians, but I hadn't been
familiar with his music as all. With new album Afraid of Ghosts out this
week, it seemed like the time.
That lack
of previous familiarity makes it harder to know where to focus on this review.
I listened to Afraid of Ghosts first, and it was powerful, but then
listening to the rest of the extensive catalog was so different and so good
that I'm torn. I'll still try, and maybe I can distill it into two moments.
The first
was during the first listen on Afraid of Ghosts. Six tracks in "Bed
on Fire" came on. I had watched the video for it a few days previously. Distracted
by its unsettling imagery, I hadn't realized that the music had made much of an
impression on me, until the first chord struck heavily. There was this visceral
burst of recognition, "That's it!"
The second
happened just a few tracks later. As the final track on Afraid of Ghosts ended,
it was time for Walker's 2011 album, The Spade. The
first track, "Bodegas and Blood" started and it was a jolt, like I
had suddenly started listening to a different artist in a different genre. It
suddenly became raucous and rollicking. It stayed more like that for the other
songs.
I enjoyed
both moods, but they resonated completely differently. The songs from 2002 to
2011 were fun and well-played and Walker has a good voice. It felt like
mainly rock, but there would be touches of other things, like sometimes it
would remind me a little of Hall and Oates or Third Eye Blind, and other
artists who sound completely different from each other - not derivative but
highly varied and a lot of fun.
In that
sense Walker reminded me most of listening to Reggie and the Full Effect.
They don't sound alike, but after all the variety you realize that this is a
musician who can do pretty much anything he wants to do, though I think Walker
comes off as less light-hearted than James Dewees, even though he is often
humorous.
So to then
switch to Afraid of Ghosts is a shift to a completely different place. "Still
Drunk" retains some of that gritty humor, but in a quieter vein. Everything
is more contemplative.
Only one
track reminded me of any one else at all, in that "How Are Things,
Love?" reminded me of "Sleepwalk" by Santo & Johnny, with
moody slides and eerie twangs. There is a feeling that this is all Walker and it is his deepest core.
It is not
surprising to learn that the album was influenced by the death of Walker's father, and a friend, and also
you get some emotions from Bob Mould on the death of his father.
This is a
very mature record, with a grown up looking at life and death. It is powerful
and emotional that way. It may not be a permanent change, but it does feel new
and it should be embraced.
Afraid
of Ghosts can be
ordered digitally from iTunes or on vinyl from http://butchwalker.gomerch.com/.
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