Butch Walker and the Let’s-Go-Out-Tonites!
The Rise and Fall of…Butch Walker and the Let’s-Go-Out-Tonites!
Epic/One Haven
With numerous successful production gigs, stints in cult bands and a semi-established solo career under his belt, Butch Walker’s career is as diverse as the material on his latest release The Rise and Fall of….
He’s rocked out as part of punk-poppers Marvelous 3, been whimsical and brooding on most recent solo record Letters and provided songwriting and production polish for the likes of Pink and Avril Lavigne, and it’s clear his numerous influences shape the content of this, his third solo offering.
Opening with the pumped-up “Hot Girls In A Good Mood”, Walker brazenly wears his ’70s T-Rex influence on his sleeve, while first single “Bethamphetamine (Pretty Pretty) is just as raucous and melodic, and the piano ballad “Dominoes” allows him to display his more sensitive side.
The diversity continues with the garage rock vibe of “Paid To Get Excited” and the countrified leanings of the brilliant “Rich People Die Unhappy”, but the album’s highlights are reserved for the final two songs. “This Is The Sweetest Little Song” is beautifully self-explanatory, while album closer “When Canyons Ruled” is confirmation that Butch Walker is a songwriter and performer of some repute.
Some of his fans may dislike the fact that Walker never seems to stick to one style or replicate the harder rock sound he fashioned in Marvelous 3, but as long as he keeps producing material as good as the majority of “The Rise and Fall of…, I for one won’t be complaining.
Butch Walker: http://www.butchwalker.com
