We’re still enjoying the Southern latitudes and pastel breezes of Joshua Ray Walker’s latest record Tropicana that just dropped in June. Walker takes inspiration from country music beach songs of the Y2K radio era and makes a surprisingly stellar and strangely genius album. For those who stumbled upon it, songs like “Tacoma” and “I Don’t Wanna Be Alone” have become their summer jams for sure.
But after recently battling Cancer, Joshua Ray Walker had ample time to write and record a whole host of material, and to ponder things in life none of us should have to in our younger years. This is the inspiration for his new, upcoming album simply entitled Stuff. Though it’s officially the second album in a three-album trilogy, don’t expect it to be Tropicana 2.0.
A concept album, Stuff finds Walker imagining the inner lives of inanimate objects one might find at an estate sale after the passing of an individual. Taking a much more folk and indie approach compared to his previous albums, it was recorded with producer John Pedigo in his backyard studio, only playing instruments found in the studio, including toy reed organs, a melodica, and random impromptu percussion instruments.
Most importantly though, it’s a deeper exploration of Joshua Ray Walker’s ambitious songwriting that saw him make many fans from his first trilogy of albums outlining characters in a bar/honky tonk scene. Focusing on the objects we leave behind in death, it allowed Walker the ability to explore the very real mortality he was facing down during his Cancer treatment.
“Both my grandparents found value in things that had life left in them,” Walker says. “At the time of writing these songs, I was really hoping that I had a second shot, some more life left in me, and I think that I projected that on a lot of these characters.”
It might all sound like an unusual premise and approach for a record. But if Tropicana taught us anything, it’s to trust in the vision, imagination, songwriting, and the strong emotive voice of Joshua Ray Walker. No matter how experimental and avant-garde something might appear on paper, Walker finds a way to weave it into something intriguing, and appealing.
Stuff will be released on October 17th via East Dallas Records / Thirty Tigers, but the title track is available now.
When we first heard about Walker’s Cancer diagnosis and feared the worst, it was because we knew what he was capable of an artist, and we didn’t want to lose that. He’s not taking anything for granted, or using his new lease on life to rest. He’s making the most of every moment amid a creative bust he’s trying to capture in music form.
Stuff is now available for pre-save.
TRACK LIST:
1. Stuff
2. Brick
3. Barbie
4. Perfume
5. Bowling Ball
6. Suit
7. Shears
8. Telephone
9. Radio (Cuchiarella / Banjo / Magic Set)
10. Home
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source savingcountrymusic.com ’
