A 2018 ‘EMA Artist of the Year’ nominee and Vue Weekly’s pick for 2017’s ‘Best Solo Artist’, Lindsey Walker is not new to those of us who crave the very best in what our music scene has to offer. Her 2013 EP “Our Glory” may have slipped through some cracks prior to all the accolades however and is definitely worth a listen. The EP could have very well fallen out of the sky only moments ago and listeners wouldn’t know the difference. Perhaps that’s a testament to Walker and her band’s universal appeal. In any case, examining Our Glory’s truncated collection of tunes in 2018 still seems apropos really.
Our Glory Ep. opens with ‘Try’, a track Rick Ruben himself would have to bob his head to. Try is as near to “perfect” a song’s production can be. The band’s layered sound, complete with guitars, drums, bass and organ build on top of each other as sublime brush strokes of backing to Walker’s succulent voice. Slipping between folk, country and pop, Walker’s band shines as musical backdrop to her hauntingly rich vocals.
Marry Me is a wonderful simple love song made imminently better than most others played on pop radio. The notion of love is not simplified, instead it comes loaded up with a healthy dose of work. Marry Me may not be the only “reality” love song written but that does not diminish the uniqueness of the song.
The title track tells the story of a woman corrupted by evil in the guise of good. A story that bridges this 2013 EP right back into 2018. “Where has our glory gone?” may be the question on the tip of all critical minds in 2018. As world leaders take us down the paths of humanities end, it becomes harder to recognize our global community.
In “Our Glory”, the protagonist is looking for her home after being driven down the wrong emotional highway. Walker examines our lost glory as she searches the streets to find what remain. Though many of us may be “left out in the cold” in our society, its welcomed to know there are some who still search for the truth via their art. The question “tell me where has our glory gone?” comes smack in the middle of the album, the metaphoric eye of the storm. It’s been a few years since “Our Glory” inclusion into Walker’s discography. I wonder if she’s gotten the answer.
The final track “Love your right” may be a personal story of two lovers but listeners may hear it as a direct response to earlier track, Our Glory. “Maybe one day we can see it through and I can love you as I was meant to do” sounds as if Lindsey Walker knows that love can only be given when one loves themselves first. At least in 2013 that might have been the case.
Lindsey Walker is the silver lining to the big billowy and uniquely warm cloud that envelopes the listener on Our Glory. Despite the dark tones of Walker’s voice, Our Glory lifts the listener up throughout it’s four tracks. Like chasing a storm, there is clarity in arriving at the eye but it’s the journey that is most exhilarating. Walker arrives at many points of certainty with her band in tow yet asks as many questions as she answers. I’m looking forward to hearing where she got to in 2018.
-- Val Christopher
Listen Now
On Capital City Records!
Listen Now
On Capital City Records!