There’s a definite appeal to jam-focused music: The sense of improvisation inherent to the style results in songs that feel free, open, and like they can go anywhere. That’s the world from which Ryley Walker comes, but on his next album, he’s looking to change things up: He just announced that Deafman Glance will be out on May 18th via Dead Oceans, and said that while making this record, he realized that he “didn’t want to be jammy acoustic guy anymore.”
Walker has definitely shed that skin on “Telluride Speed,” a new song that oscillates between folk to grungy jazz, often on a second-to-second basis, and embodies the adventurous spirit of Van Morrison’s early work. It’s an exciting look at an artist used to more freeform work reeling it in in a way that doesn’t betray the sense of wonder and exploration that’s appealing about jam music.
Walker says of the album:
“I think more than anything the thing to take away from this record is that I appreciate what improv and jamming and that outlook on music has done for me, but I wanted rigid structure for these songs. I don’t want to expand upon them live. There’s a looseness to some of the songs I guess, but I didn’t want to rely on just hanging out on one note.
I was under a lot of stress because I was trying to make an anti-folk record and I was having trouble doing it. I wanted to make something deep-fried and more me-sounding. I didn’t want to be jammy acoustic guy anymore. I just wanted to make something weird and far-out that came from the heart finally. I was always trying to make something like this I guess, trying to catch up with my imagination. And I think I succeeded in that way — it’s got some weird instrumentation on there, and some surreal far-out words. And it’s more Chicago-y sounding. Chicago sounds like a train constantly coming towards you but never arriving. That’s the sound I hear, all the time, ringing in my ears.”
Listen to “Telluride Speed” above, and check out the Deafman Glance artwork and tracklist below, along with Walker’s upcoming tour dates.
1. “In Castle Dome”
2. “22 Days”
3. “Accommodations”
4. “Can’t Ask Why”
5. “Opposite Middle”
6. “Telluride Speed”
7. “Expired”
8. “Rocks On Rainbow”
9. “Spoil With The Rest”
3/7 – Chicago, IL @ Cafe Mustache
3/13 – Chicago, IL @ Cafe Mustache
3/21 – Chicago, IL @ Cafe Mustache
3/29 – Chicago, IL @ Cafe Mustache
4/10 – Columbia, MO @ Cafe Berlin
4/11 – Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th Street Collective
4/12 – Dallas, TX @ Three Links
4/13 – Marfa, TX @ Ballroom Marfa / Marfa Myths Fest
4/15 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
4/16 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
4/17 – Los Angeles, CA @ Resident
4/19 – El Paso, TX @ Tricky Falls *
4/21 – Tulsa, OK @ The Vanguard *
4/22 – St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill *
4/23 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Line Music Café *
4/25 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *
4/26 – Cincinnati, OH @ The Woodward Theater *
4/27 – Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theater *
4/28 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg *
4/29 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *
4/30 – Woodstock, NY @ Colony
5/1 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair *
5/2 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live *
5/3 – Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theater *
5/4 – Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight
5/5 – Raleigh, NC @ Kings
5/6 – Savannah, GA @ El-Rocko Lounge
5/7 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West *
5/8 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge *
* with Calexico
