Butch Walker saunters a fine line, a ternion of sorts stomping through life as performer, songwriter and producer. Hailed once by Rolling Stone as Producer of the Year, to be exact. Lately, he’s cranked out a solo album de novo with I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart. It’s hard to keep up with maverick Butch. Bandmate of The Floyds who were, Marvelous 3 who are more the now, or unaccompanied artist? Glam metal, post-grunge, or pop rock? Collaborator of Weezer, Dashboard Confessional or Katy Perry? (And that last one is just the tip of the iceberg.) So, it’s no wonder that Butch can drudge out a decent album laced with campy lyrics, throwbacks to the 70s, and fuzz guitars. Look to House Of Cards for the teardown of a braggadocio, follow along an inebriated post-breakup in Days/Months/Years, and hit the intersection of a boy going after the girl in She Likes Hair Bands. But the tearjerker, and possibly one of the only slow-tempo offerings on the tracklist, is Be Good Until Then. It’s Butch Walker’s creed to live by for his newborn son; one that he honestly confesses he hasn’t always followed. There’s something peaceful about his leaving behind words of wisdom to his child for the “just in case” goodbye. After all, we don’t know what life will bring us, and whether we’ll have the chance to say everything we need to say. What would those choice words be? Butch Walker might have left behind a faultless footprint of expression which I might borrow… someday.
Key Tracks: House Of Cards, Be Good Until Then, Days/Months/Years
Moods: Rambunctious, Confident, Stylish, Energetic, Swaggering, Sentimental
Buy: I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart
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