Description
Ryley Walker currently resides in New York City. But his latest LP is a Chicago record in spirit. The masterful Course In Fable, the songwriters fifth solo effort,
draws from the deep well of that citys fertile 1990s scene, when bands like Tortoise, The Sea and Cake and Gastr del Sol were reshaping the underground,
mixing and matching indie rock, jazz, prog and beyond.
Walker spent his formative years in Chicago, absorbing those heady sounds and finding ways to make them his own. Even though he emerged at first in folkrock
troubadour mode, it makes sense that hes arrived at this point; each LP has grown more intricate and assured, his influences distilling into something
original and unusual. To put it simply: Course In Fable is Walkers best record yet, full of active imagination and endless possibilities.
Last October, Ryley went straight to one of the primary architects of the Chicago sound to make the LP. John McEntire, Course In Fables producer/engineer/
mixer, can rightly be called a legend for his work with Tortoise, Stereolab, The Red Krayola, Jim ORourke and countless others over a prolific career that now
spans more than three decades. Seeing his name in an albums liners is pretty much a trademark of quality.
Another Windy City exile, McEntire is based on the west coast these days, working out of the Portland, OR studio hes dubbed Soma West. On the seven songs
here, he delivers the signature shimmering and pristine sonics hes become known for over the years. But McEntire was also intimately involved with Course
In Fables overall creative process. I told him to take the mixes and have at it, Walker says.
The result is a rich, immersive affair a headphones record if ever there was one. Course In Fables songs are twisty, labyrinthine things, stuffed full of ideas
(Walker half-jokingly calls it his prog record). But no matter how complex it gets, the album is never overwhelmingly busy. Wiry guitars melt into gorgeous
string sections (arranged by Douglas Jenkins of the Portland Cello Project). Tricky time signatures abound but feel as natural as can be. Melodies often drift in
unexpected directions but remain downright hummable. Like Walkers beloved Genesis, the pop element is never too far from the surface even when shit
gets weird. (And speaking of weird, Ryley says that in addition to Genesis, much of the albums inspiration comes from Australian extreme scooter riders on
YouTube and balding gear heads on Craigslist. Go figure.)
To help put together these various puzzle pieces, Ryley assembled a band made up of several longtime collaborators. Bill MacKay (another Chicago mainstay)
and Walker have made two excellent instrumental duo records of interlocking guitars and warm give-and-take a rapport very much in evidence
throughout Course In Fable. The freakishly talented drummer Ryan Jewell has performed with Walker for years now in a variety of seangs, from
straightforward song-centric sets to blown-out improv extravaganzas. Bassist Andrew Scott Young (Tiger Hatchery, Health&Beauty) has logged many miles on
tour with Walker; he and Jewell are frequently astonishing, a buoyant-but-always-locked-in rhythm section, able to navigate sometimes dizzying turnarounds
with apparent ease. Listening to the interplay between Walker and these musicians and you might be fooled into thinking theyd spent a year roadtesting
Course In Fables songs. But it all came together relatively fast, thanks to demos, rehearsals and the kind of musical empathy that comes from years of
playing together.
Beneath the wondrous interplay, youll find some of Walkers most personal if still typically cryptic lyrics, hinting at some of the trials the songwriter has
been dealing with in recent years. Balanced with necessary doses of dark humor and oddball poetry, Course In Fable feels most of all like a life-affirming
record, fresh air in the lungs, sun on your skin. Fuck me, Im alive, Ryley sings at one point, a moment of both disbelief and pure joy.
Walker has released his albums on a whos-who of independent labels over the past decade Tompkins Square, Dead Oceans, Thrill Jockey and Drag City
among them. This time around, hes doing it DIY-style, puang Course In Fable out on his own Husky Pants imprint. Youre in good hands. This is an album that
sounds great (mastered by Greg Calbi), looks great (artwork by Jenny Nelson and design by Michael Vallera). It probably even smells great. Whether youve
been onboard since the beginning or are new to the Ryley Walker universe, youre in for a treat.
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