Stay Gold

As a writer of dozens of songs with hooks that stick in your head, Rolling Stone has called Butch Walker, ''one of America's best singer-songwriters,'' as he has penned choruses you want to sing (or shout) along to from acts including Frank Turner, Brian Fallon, Taylor Swift, and many more. He is a teller of authentic stories of exploits and predicaments and romance that are filled with optimism; builder of albums with no boundaries - rock, pop, Americana, singer-songwriter...or, as he says, ''I think it's all just rock & roll.'' Walker's last album, 2015's Ryan Adams produced ''Afraid Of Ghosts,'' was a cathartic record that dealt with a devastating personal experience, the passing of his father. This one's a celebration. ''Stay Gold'' 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.''