It’s difficult these days to just walk the Earth, to abide, in a world where casual cruelty masquerades as strength and so many are so easily duped into thinking they’re the same thing – or worse, know better and decide to get on board with it anyway.
And there’s no shortage of people who, for whatever self-serving reason, are all too eager to remind us just how ugly everything is, and that nothing is ever good enough, no matter how hard you try.
And the barrage is fucking constant and unrelenting. It is 24/7 and tireless, and if you let it, it’ll be the last thing you see before you fall asleep at night and the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning.
When the whole thing starts all over again.
But there are moments of joy and beauty to be found; they do come along every now and then and I try to take them where I find them.
And I’ve found one.
It’s called Ladina, and it’s the first single from RascalZ RecordZ recording artist Whitney Walker’s new record, called Blood Harmony, which comes out on May 10. It’s up now on his YouTube channel.
“My mission statement for what I’m trying to achieve is chop philosophic vs. bubblegum rock, which is the first sentence in the chorus to Ladina,” Walker said. “Poetry over compelling music basically. My dad got me two tapes when I got locked up in my first psych ward, both best of. Lou Reed Walk On The Wild Side and Ramones Mania. So I’m attempting to combine those two vibes most often.”
And with Ladina, Walker’s undoubtedly hit his mark. It’s a beautiful song, built off an engaging acoustic guitar line that slides right into a deceptively sly groove laid down by Walker’s band, which includes drummer Robert Mitchell, multi-instrumentalist and producer Dan Capaldi, saxophonist Dana Colley, and keyboardists Gabrielle Raymond and Tyler Quist.
They’ll be playing the Aphoadion Theater on June 6, and Walker and the band are deep into rehearsals.
“We’re taking our time, learning the tunes,” Walker said. “When we were making the record, there were so many takes, and when we play it live, we want to make sure we’re tight.”
But I’m here to tell you now: that band’s gonna be tight, and that’s gonna be a helluva show.
You can get the pre-order the new release, Blood Harmony, here.