![]() He’s created such a relatable record by defining the struggle of identity through his experimental and broad songwriting. With ‘Primrose Green’, Walker has created a mystical record, balancing idyllic sonics with moving sensibility. The fact that Walker’s drawl is so clear leaves an even greater feeling of poignancy, yet greater yearning of hope. It leaves him melancholic, yet using the music as an effective step towards recuperation and understanding. Lyrically Walker is disjointed, influenced by personal events over the course of writing. ![]() From the intense focus of ‘Griffiths Bucks Blues’ to ‘Same Minds’ slow-burning jazz-improvisation, Walker shows he isn’t afraid to test all manner of options to write a definitive piece. The album as a whole remains cohesive whilst heading in different directions, Walker experimenting within different time frames and pushing the boundaries of what can be fit into popular music structure. It’s smoothness on ‘Summer Dress’ is an inescapable lure as the rhythm is given primary position. His natural guitar-playing and the rhythm that carries it is indulgent, yet the most essential quality, remaining in control and prominent.ĭouble bass is an evident feature and high in the mix throughout, symbolising the jazz influence on the record and suitably partnering Walker’s extensive jams. ‘Love Can Be Cruel’ exudes segments of passionate harmony, layered within absorbing instrumental refrains. On his stellar new album 'Primrose Green,' the songs constantly shift, buoyed by Walker's crate-digging love for genre-bending acts like Tim Buckley, Van Morrison, Fairport Convention and John. Walker’s songwriting remains expansive, evoking a whimsical element by leaving in elements of jamming and crafting. ![]() Personal suffering in the songwriter’s life set the Illinois guitarist on a path of expanding on the folk influences he has delved in since 2012. Walker works in a similar sphere of influence as his contemporaries, but when the results are constantly inspiring, any sort of similarities disappear into the dirt where this sort of roots music originates.Following the release of his first solo record, ‘All Kinds of You’, Ryley Walker set out to experiment. ![]() It eventually returns to a state of calm before quickly fading into nothingness-led by its catchy melody. Ryley Walker is one of the leading young stylists in a crowded instrumental guitar scene, and on his debut, he aims to create a record that joins his folk-rock heroes: Van Morrison, Pentangle. The track’s second half loosens up as the piano flurries-the drums grow louder and the guitar pierces more than it soothes. Walker’s best strength is the emotional resonance of his voice. The track’s multitude of parts never threaten to overwhelm it’s emotional core: Walker’s vocal delivery, which is classic in a startling way. Intricate guitar work-slippery, complex, and flawlessly executed-are supported by airy drums and warm piano chords. Ryley Walker’s Dead Oceans debut, Primrose Green, is out in late March and first single of the same name is a sterling introduction. The northern-Illinois born guitarist crafts the sort of jams both Tyler and Gunn execute so well-the freedom of Grateful Dead, the craft of a Bert Jansch or other similarly styled folksters, and the melodic weaving heavily influenced by jazz and experimental leaning music. It’s time to add Ryley Walker to the exponentially increasing list. Steve Gunn’s Way Out Weather was my favorite record of 2014, and William Tyler’s consistency is a marvel. Tthe re-emergence of the folk-Americana canon is exciting. ![]()
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