Butch Walker has led one of the more interesting lives of alt-country dudes. He fronted one-hit wonders Marvelous 3 wrote songs for Lit Weezer and Bowling for Soup composed music for important films like American Wedding and Agent Cody Banks produced the Donnas Lindsay Lohan and Avril Lavigne and played all over Taylor Swift’s Red — among many many other things. He’s just about done everything for everyone.
Walker also has his own singer-songwriter career going with six full-lengths of good-time twangin’ country rock to his name. And despite all of his accomplishments as a composer and producer for his seventh album he sought guidance from his recent tourmate and bud Ryan Adams.
Recorded at Adams’ Pax-Am Studios Afraid of Ghosts basically sounds like the ghost of Ryan Adams inhabited Walker’s soul. But it isn’t merely a case of Adams influencing Walker’s music as it is Walker’s life influencing his music. Walker lost his father in between albums and so stripping things down gave songs like the heart-wrenching “Father’s Day” featuring Bob Mould and the sombre title track the necessary gravitas.
Afraid of Ghosts adds yet another new skill to Walker’s resumé: the earnest acoustic troubadour. And he should really stick to it because it definitely suits him.
