CD Review: Walker shapes up on new release
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March 5, 2010
Filed under Reviews
Out of the many songs that Butch Walker has released, his sugary sweet turn at pop-rock, “Mixtape,” may be the best remembered—but even then it’s only a half-remembrance, vaguely recognizable when heard but a head-scratcher when asked about. On the lengthily titled “I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart,” Butch Walker, now Butch Walker & the Black Widows, presents a significantly more memorable performance, integrating jazz-pop, country, and pop in understated, yet upbeat, performances.
Walker has obviously benefited from a dose of maturity, which brings not only impeccably crafted music but also diversity of melody. Well-crafted, if somewhat mediocre lyrics add to the album as well, such as on “Pretty Melody: “Do you remember when we met/ liquor drinks and cigarettes/ all the boys taking bets.” Other highlights include “Trash Day” and “Broken Hearts.”
Occasionally, the pop-rock feel of songs like “House of Cards” sounds a bit overdone; Walker is at his best when he’s been influenced by a particular brand of music other than pop-rock, like the low-key, Mraz-like “Fixed Gears and Broken Hearts,” the Motown-inspired “They Don’t Know What We Know,” the many understated country western overlays (most obviously presented on the fiddle-laden “Don’t You Think Someone Should Take You Home” and the slow, Jeff Buckley-esque “Canadian Ten”), and the chamber-pop of “Pretty Melody.”
Fans are guaranteed to be happy; each song stands on its own as a perfectly respectable, occasionally great song. As an album, however, “I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart” comes off either as a patchwork quilt of other people’s music or a deliberate journey through every rock genre in existence today.
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