Afraid Of Ghosts is the 7th album by Butch Walker and is produced by Ryan Adams. It boasts guest guitarists Bob Mould and Johnny Depp all of which should mean this is going to be a good album, even allowing for the fact it's about the death of Butch's father suggesting its contents are obviously going to be a little bit down.
Nonetheless, it has all the ingredients to be pretty good on paper. But then I start listening and well, from the opening title track it's a stripped back and sombre affair that is obviously well played and produced but just a little dour. I Love You being a love letter to his departed father that when it reaches the "ooh ooh ooh" bit is almost a bit cringe-y and sort of reminds me of Peter Gabriel's Solsbury Hill.
The first single off the album is Chrissie Hynde: a song about hearing her voice that somehow sounds nothing like how I'd expect a tribute song to her to sound. It's so sedate as if everyone is on Valium and has none of Chrissie's balls and is far too plaintive.
Still Drunk is a sort of love letter to an ex that is again so laid back as to be half asleep. It tells of how the ex in question is still a drunk over some nice acoustic strumming and nice backing vocals. It's just so slight that a proper alcoholic ex deserves a far more edgy (or deranged) song and it just doesn't make me want to hear it again.
How Are Things, Love is a mordant break-up song that has some very careful guitar and piano; almost like they worried more about where to place them in the stereo mix than how the song sounds as a whole, which is slow (very very slow) and pained and I wish I could figure out which ancient song it reminds me of.
Bed Of Fire sounds like something Ed Sheeran would sing to try to sound like he has some emotions. The best thing about it is the downbeat piano that comes and goes and the string section. Is his bed on fire and has his love gone down in flames? Well not sure, but the guitars and strings work really well. 21+ starts out all slow and quiet as a sort of love song to an obviously younger lover with some nice plinky piano before Johnny Depp's guitar finally comes in to wake it up a little bit with a very late 70's Joe Walsh style solo.
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Autumn Leaves is another slight forgettable song. It's barely there and forgotten the moment it's gone. Not even close to the best song with that title. Father's Day is obviously a heart-wrenching, slow, quiet song about his father's death that very slowly builds as Butch reminisces about his dad and notices life still going on around him as he tries to get past his first Father's Day since his dad's death. I know from experience this is a very difficult day indeed, but then Bob Mould's Guitar sort of explodes out of nowhere and brings more life to this album than had been apparent; almost like they have put the valium down for a bit.
The album closes with The Dark. It's another song sort of saying goodbye to his dad again and it's a slow rumination as he envisages going into the dark with his father at his side. It brings this very slow and sad album to its close and it's anything but listening.
Find out more at Butch Walker online
order it here: Lo-Jinx Records online
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