Stay Gold

STAY GOLD - The stories on Stay Gold are very well fleshed out, something Butch credits to "growing up on some of those dudes - Elton John and the (Bernie) Taupin lyrics, Springsteen and Joel." It kicks off with the title song, a straight-ahead rocker, loaded with swagger and lyrics that call out native GA locales featuring a nod to the S.E. Hinton novel (and later, a Coppola film), The Outsiders. The lead single "East Coast Girl" and "Mexican Coke" are inspired by Walker's move to Los Angeles, the former effectively combining an anthemic chorus with spoken verses, recorded conversationally on an iPhone. The writerly eye for detail is apparent in one of Stay Gold's standout tracks, "Wilder In The Heart", describing an airport meeting with a girlfriend. The album also includes "Descending", a beautiful, decidedly tender duet with country singer Ashley Monroe about survival and staying on the course of love. Overall, Stay Gold is clearly Walker's most articulate to date. When asked if the stories are real or imagined, he replies, "All the songs are half true."