Golden Sings That Have Been Sung in Bloomington, MN

When singer, songwriter, and guitarist
Ryley Walker
released 2014's
All Kinds of You
, his playing style openly referenced
Jack Rose
, the "American Primitive" Takoma sound, and British innovators such as
Davy Graham
and
Bert Jansch
. His musical structures were loose and full of improvisation. A year later, on
Primrose Green
, the American primitive notions slipped from the radar, but the Brit folk had been fully integrated, and his love of
Tim Buckley
,
John Martyn
, and
Terry Callier
were woven into more expansively textured songs.
Golden Sings That Have Been Sung
offers another change-up. These eight songs offer more proof of
Walker
's evolution as a writer, and his referential focus has shifted again. He's not showcasing his playing abilities as much here, but readily evokes the Chicago scene of the '90s that gave us
Gastr del Sol
the Sea and Cake
Tortoise
. The set was produced by multi-instrumentalist/arranger
Leroy Bach
(
Wilco
Liz Phair
Rob Mazurek
). Most of the remaining cast (also Chicagoans) have worked with
before. Opener "The Halfwit in Me," with its deadpan title and lyrics, underscores the influence of
Jim O'Rourke
. The vibe is breezy, quirky, lithe pop with tight charts offering interlocking grooves in shifting time signatures. Clarinet, electric piano, and lap steel guitar (all from
Bach
) wrap themselves around gentle percussion and fingerstyle acoustic guitar. "A Choir Apart" offers a shifting dynamic with its ominous tom-toms that bridge modal psychedelic chamber pop and more experimental rock terrain (a la
). "Sullen Mind" is a more full-bodied articulation of sounds
's explored before, and features stellar interplay between electric piano, droning acoustic guitar, and
Brian Sulpizio
's poignant electric lead lines. "The Roundabout" is a midtempo folk-rock tune built around a single -- and yes, circular -- guitar vamp.
's lyric juxtaposes pain disguised as self-deprecating humor (think
Mark Eitzel
) at a local watering hole: "Can I buy you a drink/Though my credit is quite shit...And you cry like you've never seen water/And come to think of it I think my dad wanted a daughter...." Closer "Age Old Tale" is the longest and loosest thing here, with jazz overtones and sweeping autoharp -- evoking
Alice Coltrane
's early
Impulse!
recordings -- and engages
Anton Hatwich
's rumbling bassline as strummed electric and acoustic guitars move at a cough syrup pace. It's a modal vamp that doesn't really go anywhere -- though there is a nice clarinet interlude near the end -- but it doesn't need to; its deep-nod vibe is enough. There are a couple of duds here, including the dirge "The Great and Undecided" (that pays self-indulgent homage to
Mark Kozelek
's journal-entry confessional songwriting). On one level,
delivers the most advanced music
's released to date. That said, despite his growing confidence and excellent production and arrangements, the singing and lyric writing still need work. This is a snapshot of where he is at the moment. It's a solid effort even with its flaws. ~ Thom Jurek