Hit play and count the seconds until you catch the Butch Walker cameo. (Hint: It should take about 50 seconds.)

If you blinked, you may have also missed the Ron Jeremy cameo. Also, the club version of “Synthesizers” is kind of dope.

—–

The Spade is available now in various formats. Butch Walker’s book, Drinking With Strangers, can also be purchased over at his website.

Butch entered the stage to Dr. Hook’s “Cover Of Rolling Stone” then launched immediately into a three song slow-jam fest, featuring Marvelous 3′s “Cigarette Lighter Love Song” as the show opener. For “Every Monday,” the microphone was turned toward the audience, who sang every word to the song while the singer sat on the stage and played along acoustically.

Playing the first six songs of the set sans band, Butch took the opportunity to revisit some pre-Widows tracks from previous albums. Prompted by a crowd who seemed to know every word to every song, the Atlanta native remarked, “I like when this place is sold out– it’s good for my ego. I remember playing the Exit/In to four people when I first played here… three of them were bartenders. We’ve come a long way, baby.”

Cary Ann Hearst of Shovels and Rope joined the band onstage for “Synthesizers,” which featured a full-on “Come On Eileen” too-la-ta-loo-ra mid-song breakdown. And to keep the homage vibe going, Butch Walker and the Black Widows later played a cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Cecilia” as a lead-in to “Dublin Crow.”

The highlight of the show was in “The 3 Kids In Brooklyn,” a song which features Butch’s famous “little guitar,” a prop that seems to trigger something that makes him lose his shit and encouages climbing on top of the kick drum. The energy level of the show never wavered, but it hit its peak during this particular jam.

Given that producing records is his day job, Butch Walker knows his way around a studio album, but his live show is where his most substantial connection is made as an artist. Of any of the artists we’ve covered, Butch Walker seems to be most concerned with wanting you to have as much fun at his show as he does– and Butch Walker parties. And if you have any doubts, re-watch that “Every Monday” video; his fans are that dedicated for a reason.

tUnE-yArDs premiered her self-directed video for “Gangsta.” It features a flashlight, a train ride, and… hippies dancing in black and white? Sure.
You can watch it on YouTube.

Tom Waits gave us a new one from his forthcoming, Bad As Me. “Back In the Crowd” offers Waits using his signature growl to croon his way through a track laced heavily with Latin vibes that pleads If you don’t want my love, don’t make me stay. The song is available now on Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube. So it’s everywhere.
(Thanks, Stereogum!)

Butch Walker appeared on Last Call with Carson Daly to talk about being a solo artist, being a producer, and his place in the music industry. In doing so, he explains why we will write about him, always.
Part one is here:

And there’s more in part two.

The hype surrounding Milo Greene is (finally!) paying off in big ways. Chop Shop Records announced in their blog that they have listed the band as the most recent addition to their roster. Also announced: Milo Greene will release their debut album during spring of next year, and they will begin their fall tour this week.

If you still need more, we have album reviews! Go gettum.

Unless your favorite musician is writing about a heroin addiction or exposing personal journal entries, there’s no reason to actually read what he or she has to say, right? Wrong. Butch Walker, your bi-coastal neighborhood singer/songwriter/producer (and now author), is bringing you a little more than just his Tumblr to read. Drinking With Strangers: Music Lessons From A Teenage Bullet Belt, is Walker’s compiled knowledge on the music industry and will be published by Harper Collins. If you are familiar with Butch Walker on any level, you can expect this read to be anything but dry.

You can grab Drinking With Strangers: Music Lessons From A Teenage Bullet Belt on October 25th. If you want to pre-order a copy, check out where you can do that, here.

—–

For more information on Butch Walker, visit butchwalker.com.

The Spade
Release Date: August 30th via Dangerbird Records

01. Bodegas and Blood
02. Every Single Body Else
03. Sweethearts
04. Summer of 89
05. Day Drunk
06. Synthesizers
07. Dublin Crow
08. Closest Thing To You I’m Gonna Find
09. Bullet Belt
10. Suckerpunch

Like 2008′s Sycamore Meadows, this release is best consumed as a whole, the energy of each song elevated and strengthened by the track preceeding it. The stamina of The Spade seems neverending, pausing just once to take a breath by way of “Closest Thing To You I’m Gonna Find,” the only ballad featured on the album.

Because it’s Butch, the lyrics are often written with a wink and a nudge, never taking the music too seriously and maintaining a playful attitude by keeping everyone in on the joke. Many of the songs feature Butch/band banter interspersed between huge chrouses and catchy hooks, keeping the vibe lively, anthemic and perhaps moderately drunk.

Initial standouts on The Spade are found in “Sweethearts,” a mid-tempo love song with a hook as sticky as the lyrics are sweet, the chorus of “Synthesizers,” a song that seems to remind people of a Dexy’s Midnight Runners jam, and “Dublin Crow,” an Irish-influenced, harmony-heavy folk song that warns If I’m drownin’, please don’t save me ’cause I gotta save myself. Though each of the songs are capable of standing alone, they are much stronger as a unit, proving that Butch Walker is willing to put his producer credit where his mouth is in the battle to keep albums relevant in the fight against single-serving music consumption.

Of his recent work, The Spade seems to be Butch Walker’s biggest push to expand his already-expansive must-hear live setlist. Every song on the album stands to take on a more feral, fist-pumping persona in a live setting, and to become a true Butch Walker fan is to see him live at least four times.

Learn the lyrics to The Spade, then go sing along:

10.06.11 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt
10.07.11 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
10.08.11 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
10.12.11 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fineline
10.13.11 – Chicago, IL @ Double Door
10.14.11 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Bag
10.15.11 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
10.16.11 – Columbus, OH @ The Basement
10.18.11 – Buffalo, NY @ Tralf Music Hall
10.19.11 – Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
10.20.11 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Club AE
10.21.11 – Asbury Park, NJ @ The Stone Pony
10.22.11 – Boston, MA @ Royal
10.24.11 – New York, NY @ Gramercy Theater
10.25.11 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
10.26.11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
10.27.11 – Baltimore, MD @ Ramshead Live
10.28.11 – Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre
10.31.11 – Orlando, FL @ The Social
11.02.11 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ The Culture Room

—–

Buy The Spade on iTunes or over on Amazon.
Get more Butch Walker news at facebook.com/butchwalker.

Indie-minded singer/songwriter Butch Walker premiered his video for “Summer Of ’89″ on not-so-indie website Rolling Stone today. In addition to Butch and his Black Widows, the music video stars Wes Anderson-friendly actor Seymour Cassel as the director, though the video is directed by Butch Walker-friendly director Shane Valdez:

Of the video, Butch tells Rolling Stone, “The idea was to borrow some ideas from really bad rock videos in the late Eighties and put them in perspective now.”

Mission: accomplished.

—–

For more on Butch Walker, visit butchwalker.com.

»Album Reviews For Release Date: 08.30.11
by Joshua Krage

Lots of excellent musics this week, but Butch Walker gets the belt whenever he steps into the ring. Read on to see his competition:

Doug Benson

Blood Orange, Coastal Groove – the third and most accessible incarnation of Test Icicles/Lightspeed Champion mastermind Devonte Hynes, restraining his normal flurry of vocal emotion down to a sly, shadowy indie coo and achieving chilled triumph all over this album. Following a subtle narration of transvestite strippers in New York, this album is surprisingly the first where Hynes doesn’t sound like he’s just being odd for odd’s sake; the stark, mellow-toned textures and reverb’d guitar jangle provide the perfect backdrop for his tales of off-kilter characters, and his calmly confident delivery is pitch-perfect for these songs.

Rick Braun
Glen Campbell
Cobra Starship
Committed

Ry Cooder, Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down – a rather tejano-flavored outing from the multi-cultured music maestro, making strong political statements of every color and wrapping in genres of every southwestern flavor over these expertly-played tracks.

Counting Crows – August & Everything After live DVD deluxe ed

Cymbals Eat Guitars, Lenses Alien – impressive sophomore set from indie buzz band and P4K fave responsible for much hipster soc.media expressiveness in ‘09. Seamlessly weaving disparate guitar textures and slightly off-beat rhythms together beneath frontman Joseph D’Agonstino’s nasally triumphant yelp, these songs come on like the Shins out of Brooklyn, replacing meandering abstract with pinpoint sneer and rally cry. Great second album, plenty of new tricks and strong songs.

Mike Doughty
Great Lake Swimmers
David Guetta

Hella, Tripper – if you’re a drummer or know a drummer who’s serious about what they do, they know the name Zach Hill, and this welcome return to form for Sacramento experimental duo Hella is a percussive, polyrhythmic breakbeat monster. Spencer Seim’s bright-orange guitar tones invade the spaces like psychedelic mushroom clouds of sound, and blessedly stripped down to just guitars and drums (and some space keys here and there), the two players lock into airtight groove symmetry throughout these incredibly dynamic instrumental tours-de-force. For musically adventurous souls, this is an edge-of-your-seat rollercoaster ride, amazing twists at every turn, and a great arrival back at the sound which launched them into tastemakers’ stereos over a decade ago.

Jacuzzi Boys
Robert Earl Keen
Tommy Keene
Kittie
Lenny Kravitz

Sonia Leigh, 1978 December – proper national release from country-tinged singer/songwriter and Zac Brown contemporary who, for some reason, hits me like Jodie Foster set to music. Great story-based songwriting and a lean, road-worn wit fill these songs with easy accessibility, and her voice is like a weary grin welcoming you through the door after a long day. Can’t remember how long I’ve been enjoying her song “Poem from the Ocean Floor” but so glad it and her finally have a national stage to play on.

Lil’ Wayne

Male Bonding, Endless Now – heavy second helping of pretense-less noise-rock from lo-fi, lo-frills London trio, out on Sub Pop. No overanalyzing, just straight-up music mischief.

Glasses Malone
Edwin McCain

Tom Morello, World Wide Rebel Songs – I’m sure some people are enjoying the guitar-noise genius’ americana/folk Nightwatchman leanings, and this album does at least get his electric back in the fold, but overall his baritone is acceptable at best and his songwriting is still in need of serious work. This album does at least display Morello’s strong sense of social justice, and is musically saved by some of his six string work and a strong Ben Harper duet.

Jake Owen
Puddle of Mudd

Red Hot Chili Peppers, I’m With You – enh, John Frusciante’s return was what got me interested in the Chilis again, with his strong knack for minimalist arranging melding with their incredible rhythm section, so with his absence this album is a mixed bag for me. New guitarist Josh Klinghoffer is certainly capable, and his contributions are actually unique in the RHCP history for blending perfectly into each song rather than flailing wildly or starkly ringing in psychedelic reverie. From punked-out disco textures to subtle acoustic backdrops, Klinghoffer suits the song in pretty much every situation, only stepping out with some psych’d solo lines when the din dies down a bit. Flea’s bass is amazingly acrobatic as ever, but overall many of these songs just feel like extended jams that Anthony Kiedis freestyled over and chose the lyrics that sounded least absurd. I get the feeling when the new axeman gets his bearings as the sole melodic force here, they’ll find a new chapter and create a much better album for it.

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Eric Sardinas
Jill Scott
Spin Doctors – Pocketful of Kryptonite 20th anniv ed.
Static Jacks
Tommy Stinson
.38 Special – live from Texas

Thundercat, The Golden Age of Apocalypse – acrobatically electronic debut from Flying Lotus protegé and sideman Stephen Bruner, who’s heavy on the bass funk and fluid with the style dynamics. Effortlessly blending together shades of ’70s jazz, psychedelia, dance, modern electro, even disco in pursuit of his chameleonic grooves, Brunner tops these tracks with a strong-yet-smooth singing voice which hangs embedded just far enough into the mix as to not overwhelm the compositional craft present from cut to cut. Useful as a downtempo club record or an uptempo late night chill record, this album glitters and glides into all sorts of pleasurable sonic places.

Tinariwen, Tassili – nomadic group of Malian desert droners is finally secure with a fanbase of indie tastemakers and style icons, but you wouldn’t know it by their songs alone, which on this album continue stylistically unaltered from works past. Thankfully they do get some surprise starpower in guest spots from the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Nels Cline and TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone and Tunde Adebimpe (who provide the albums only English-language lyrics) on a few tracks.

Butch Walker & the Black Widows, The Spade – ever since hearing Marvelous 3’s knowing take on huge-hooked power-pop, nobody has held a candle to Butch Walker for overall style, chops, hooks, and general rock & roll ability. Once you hear a BW song, every other song sounds like a parody of itself, and on no album is this more evident than this second drop from he & the Black Widows. A survivor of both the hair metal ’80s and the subsequent grunge/alternative ’90s revolution, Butch knows his way around both a catchy chorus and a self-deprecating lyric, embodying the best of both the pop genre and the slacker guitar heroes who villify and eschew the pop genre. Over the past few releases, my favorite thing has been his vocal production, wisely roping in scores of scenester buddies for huge-sounding chorus vox, making his skyscraper-sized hooks sound big as they deserve and fleshing them out with perfect harmony mixing for maximum effect– a trait amply on display all over The Spade. I won’t even start talking about the sardonic, culture-lambasting lyricism at every stanza of every song, nobody comes close to Butch Walker for wry wordplay and there are too many winning examples to choose even just five. Bottom line, this is a solid full-length release from both a man and a band who’s both cooler than you and over being cooler than you, keeping their irony filters on blast and the hooks turned up to 11 on a batch of songs that distills the best traits of the last 30 years of rock & roll into 40-ish minutes of scene-smart party covering both the entire night and the morning after. A win, as if it would be anything else.

I know, I could have written about the new Cobra Starship, Lil’ Wayne, or David Guetta albums, but do you really need me to tell you what they sound like? The Top 40 charts already tell you exactly what they sound like, with little/no variation. Listen to something better instead, eh?

—–

To view past reviews, visit our archives.

Written and directed by Shane Valdés, Butch Walker debuted the bad ass, Mad Max-esque trailer for his upcoming album, The Spade, out August 30th.

Because Butch describes it best:

So what if me and Jake were good guys, Fran and Chris were bad guys, and we were post-apocolyptic motorcycle warriors and there was this girl… A hot girl with a headdress on, and she has a gun, and she shoots me but I don’t feel it and Jake and I face our fate against Fran and Chris, and we all kamikaze fight and and.. We surf on our motorbikes to our death with our own signature weapons to save a girl that shot me anyways… And…and.. Then we all just go BOOM!!!
No?
Too weird 70s cocaine sounding?

Just watch…

You’re welcome,
Butch

Thanks, Butch:

For all of the information you need on Butch Walker’s forthcoming album and subsequent tour, revisit our rundown.

—–

To pre-order The Spade, go to the Dangerbird website.
For more information on Butch Walker, visit butchwalker.com.

The Spade
Release Date: August 30th via Dangerbird Records

01. Bodegas and Blood
02. Every Single Body Else
03. Sweethearts
04. Summer of 89
05. Day Drunk
06. Synthesizers
07. Dublin Crow
08. Closest Thing To You I’m Gonna Find
09. Bullet Belt
10. Suckerpunch

Listen to “Synthesizers” over at EW.

Stream “Day Drunk” here:

Listen to “Summer Of ’89″:
“Summer Of ’89″
And then save it.

And, because Butch Walker’s primary selling point is his live show (an endorsement that cannot be stressed enough, btw), be sure to see him at a venue near you:

10.06.11 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt
10.07.11 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
10.08.11 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
10.12.11 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fineline
10.13.11 – Chicago, IL @ Double Door
10.14.11 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Bag
10.15.11 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
10.16.11 – Columbus, OH @ The Basement
10.18.11 – Buffalo, NY @ Tralf Music Hall
10.19.11 – Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
10.20.11 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Club AE
10.21.11 – Asbury Park, NJ @ The Stone Pony
10.22.11 – Boston, MA @ Royal
10.24.11 – New York, NY @ Gramercy Theater
10.25.11 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
10.26.11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
10.27.11 – Baltimore, MD @ Ramshead Live
10.28.11 – Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre
10.31.11 – Orlando, FL @ The Social
11.02.11 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ The Culture Room

Hang tight, West Coasters– you’re next.
No ticket info is available yet. We’ll keep you posted.

—–

To pre-order The Spade, go to the Dangerbird website.
For more information on Butch Walker, visit butchwalker.com.

“Pretty Melody” is the second single from I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart and one of the strongest songs from the record. Enjoy the video below:

—–

For more information on Butch Walker, visit butchwalker.com.