Ryley Walker just kind of appeared here, as if he found a time machine in 1971 and decided to see what life was like 40+ years down the line. I wonder what he thinks of dubstep?
The title track evokes the faint memory of that pure 70s AM radio sound, that post-Woodstock folk music that wasn’t quite a hippie thing, but not quite a country thing. It’s a roving music, a wild spirit you can feel at the top of a mountain, or waking up under the stars after a night by the campfire.
Walker’s talent on the acoustic guitar, married with an overlay of jazzy piano accompaniment, is reminiscent of Nick Drake’s distinctive chamber pop sound. Even the cover art reminds me of a John Denver album or Tim Buckley, Bread, Seals & Crofts or something I’d find in my dad’s dusty folk collection in his attic. Ryley Walker is doing something unique here, though, embracing a vintage aesthetic, but making something that sounds fresh and modern out of his inspirations.
