I'll admit, I have a weakness for well-crafted California pop-rock that reflects a love of classic rock. I can't help it. The sunny arrangements, the harmonies, the jangly electric and strummy acoustic guitars...it gets to me. Always has.
So Butch Walker's Letters is a fantastic album for me, really. The record is tight, well-crafted, and shows enough diversity to keep things interesting throughout. Butch knows how to turn a clever phrase, and the songs are chock-full of wry asides, puns, and lyrics that are saved from being saccharine by containing just enough irony. When he's ernest--and it happens quite often on this album, believe it or not--you can tell there's a sincerity to what he's singing, an honesty to it. This is, to be sure, a good thing, as it puts the sarcasm and ironic hipster pose in perspective. The man's certainly no one trick pony, that's for sure.
Musically, it's a fairly diverse offering: the aforementioned jangly guitars, strummy acoustics, the occasional piano or wurlitzer stepping forward in the mix. Occasional touches of modernism--a turntable scratch at the end of one song, various electronic blips throughout--keep things interesting, as do the range and variety of instrumentation.
Probably my favorite song on the album lyrically is "Mixtape," which features such lines as "you gave me the best mixtape I have/even the bad songs ain't so bad/I just wish there was so much more than that/about me and you." It's very poignant and funny, all at the same time.
Overall, the record has a summery, California feel to it. The songs are bounce along bouyantly, and it's hard not to hum or sing along even if you don't know the words. The surface of each song pulls you in, but repeated listens reveal layers and depth to each track, nuances that you missed the last time around. It's details like those that keep you coming back for more. Butch Walker has created a compulsively listenable record, and you owe it to yourself to seek it out and give it a try.
~chuck
Song of the Moment: Butch Walker, "#1 Summer Jam"
Sunday, February 05, 2006
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2 comments:
Ha! Made you fill out a meme and then listen to Butch Walker.
You should come to see him when he comes around next. And you should get the rest of his albums.
Yes, your influence grows, dammit.
And I'm sure that I'll get his other stuff at some point. It's only a matter of time, really.
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