October 2, 2009

Album review: Butch Walker - 'Sycamore Meadow'

A State-side invasion worth taken notice of

We sneering Brits generally avoid this kind of earnest American rock unless it crops up on a Gossip Girl montage. As with Dave Matthews, Butch Walker’s a lauded songwriter in the States, but he’s nowt to us; this is his first release in the UK. It comes in the wake of his US Number One ‘Here Comes The…’, a song which Pink guests on to sucky effect, but goddarn it, this album deserves more than the Great British Shrug Off. ‘Vessels’ and ‘Summer Scarves’ are perfectly rendered drivetime soft rock, and he also shows some nice bitchery in the hipster-baiting ‘The 3 Kids In Brooklyn’ and druggy users in ‘The Weight Of Her’. Beneath the radio polish lies a wickedly caustic songwriting wit.

Martin Robinson

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