Because he plays guitar so damn well, it's tempting to lump Ryley Walker in with the growing number of pickers and strummers like William Tyler and Steve Gunn. That comparison isn't too far off either, especially if you want to use a phrase like "post-American Primitive." But Walker counts himself a Chicagoan, so it's equally apt to align him with local post-rock outfits like Tortoise and the Sea & Cake. "Primrose Green", the title track from his upcoming second album, combines the two traditions with remarkable fluidity. It opens as an acoustic pastoral, with Walker singing over a tapestry of lush piano chords and curlicues of guitar notes. As the song moves into its jazz-folk coda, the music rambles but seems increasingly geometric—more orderly, not less. "Lost my mind with a headful of primrose green," Walker laments, but this is no bad trip.
Since January and February picks were in the rockier/heavier vein we though March and it's Springiness could use a little acoustic in the mix. Primrose Green follows a 2013 album called All Kinds of You released on the great Tompkins Square label.
Here's a track:
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