Consequence of Sound » Butch Walker

Meat Puppets, Titus Andronicus, EMA featured on Nevermind covers album

Chris Coplan — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 04:18:48 +0000

Here’s an interesting tidbit: Nirvana‘s seminal album Nevermind turns 20 this year (how’s that feel, Generation X?). A grunge masterpiece that transcended its boundaries, the album is as relevant now as it was when it hit the shelves in September 1991. Case in point: SPIN has put together Newermind, a cleverly titled tribute album that sees acts both new and old covering each of the record’s 13 tracks (including the hidden “Endless, Nameless”).

Now available as a free download in exchange for a good ol’ LIKE on Facebook, the LP features takes on “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Meat Puppets, “Breed” by Titus Andronicus, “Lithium” by The Vaselines, and “Endless, Nameless” by EMA. Other contributing artists include Surfer Blood, Charles Bradley, Amanda Palmer, and Telekinesis. Check out the complete tracklist below.

The album is being released in conjunction with the magazine’s August issue, which features insight and praise for Nevermind from Eddie Vedder, Wayne Coyne, and David Grohl. It also follows a similar project done by SPIN a couple years back to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Prince’s Purple Rain.

As for other Nevermind-related festivities, don’t forget about the forthcoming reissue, which will see release on September 19th in the UK and September 20th in the U.S via Universal. There’s also a museum exhibit worth checking out.

Newermind Tracklist:
01. Meat Puppets – Smells Like Teen Spirit
02. Butch Walker – In Bloom
03. Midnight Juggernauts – Come As You Are
04. Titus Andronicus – Breed
05. The Vaselines – Lithium
06. Amanda Palmer – Polly
07. Surfer Blood – Territorial Pissings
08. Foxy Shazam – Drain You
09. Jessica Lea Mayfield – Lounge Act
10. Charles Bradley and the Menahan Street Band – Stay Away
11. Telekinesis – On A Plain
12. JEFF the Brotherhood – Something In The Way
13. EMA – Endless, Nameless

Album Review: Butch Walker and The Black Widows – I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart

Justin Gerber — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 12:01:09 +0000

Butch Walker‘s latest effort isn’t an out-and-out bad listen. Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a slog to get through. I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart could have been titled I Liked It Better When I Heard it on Pneumonia. There are so many instances here of late Whiskeytown-influences that don’t rise to the occasion, leaving Walker out in the dust of his contemporaries.

“Trash Day” is a good enough start to the album. A pleasant pop-rocker with sing-along choruses and big guitars. It isn’t the best song on the album, but it comes close. The opener is an example of Walker at his best: writing crunchy pop rock without trying too hard. When he tries too hard, it turns to schmaltz, like “Pretty Melody”. Its strings and piano clash badly with the percussion as Walker goes for Springsteen but comes up Gavin DeGraw.

The acoustic “Don’t You Think Someone Should Take You Home” is sweet alt-country, and a definite step-up from the previous track. Like most songs on the album though, it doesn’t hang around your head. You won’t find yourself humming the melody later in the day, whether you’re walking the dog or driving home from work. If anything, you’ll be humming “Jacksonville Skyline” (did I mention how these songs sound like Whiskeytown?).

There are a couple instances here where Walker crafts a good tune without going off the deep end. “Temporary Title” and “House of Cards” both have a Madness-feel to them. The strings sound a little inspired as opposed to being simply generated by computers. The fact that there aren’t a lot of bands out there sounding like Madness doesn’t hurt Walker in these cases. It’s when he tries to pull a T-Rex in the chorus for “They Don’t Know What We Know” that the listener resorts back to eye-rolling.

Things come to an end with “Be Good Until Then”. Again, it’s an okay acoustic track that has been done better by Adams, Tweedy, Farrar, Louris, etc. The main problem with Walker is that there is no edge to the music. It’s hard to pinpoint this down to the vocals or the production, but until Walker figures it out, we’ll be more than happy to put on Faithless Street in the meantime.

Cancer benefit show rounds up big name acts including Band of Horses and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Chris Coplan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:00:48 +0000

We can’t make you care about making the world a better place; hell, if your parents or overzealous girlfriend can’t, no one might ever. But you can be suckered into a noble cause. And just how might some dastardly fiend do that? Throw on a killer show featuring the likes of Band of Horses and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and kick all the proceeds to cancer kids. Like taking candy from a baby.

The aforementioned show (with a heads-up thanks to TinyMixTapes) is to raise money for the Pablove Foundation. The organization works to provide funding and health care for kids without insurance and to improve hospital playrooms. The show will also feature the likes of Tom Morello, Sea Wolf, Shirley Manson, Tom Gabel of Against Me!, Butch Walker, Songs for Kids, and many more musical surprises.

The show goes down November 21st at the Avalon in Los Angeles, CA. Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster.com and a portion, obviously, goes to the Pablove Foundation and its corresponding programs. Seriously, do you need any other reason to go at this point?