Primrose Green‘s folk influence is most present when Walker takes the lead as on the blossoming interlude, “Griffith Buck’s Blues”, a dexterous instrumental homage to fellow Rockford native and renowned horticulturalist the fragmentary thrashing of “Love Can Be Cruel” the ambling “On the Banks of the Old Kishwaukee”, a murky tale of a riverside baptism the verdant yet broken “The High Road”, which doubles as the album’s most narrative moment and stark closer, “Hide in the Roses”, Walker’s lone solo moment. This structure is set on the opening track, which spirals for more than a minute, anchored by pianist Ben Boye and bassist Anton Hatwich who counter the dual guitars of Brian Sulpizio and Walker before he sings the first note of the woozy recollection of a night spent under the influence of the title concoction.
Lyrics serve to reflect and reinforce a particular composition’s tone as much as they are used as vocal cues to the musicians working alongside Walker.
RYLEY WALKER PRIMROSE GREEN LYRICS SERIES
More bandleader than frontman, Walker isn’t burdened by traditional narrative structures rather, the Chicago-by-way-of-Rockford, Illinois guitar picker and his band of Windy City musicians incorporate lyrical fragments into their alchemy of sound to create a series of mood pieces that flit on a wind, catching one’s ear in passing. Like recently unearthed gems from Gary Higgins and Vashti Bunyan, Primrose Green is a flashback that will not soon wither with age, no matter its immediate reception. Drawing likely comparisons to Tim Buckley, John Martyn and Adrian Legg for his fingerpicked folk guitar style, Walker’s sophomore LP, Primrose Green, is less a collection of songs than it is a series of esoteric compositions culled from the ether of yore.
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