Album review: Walkabouts shows chops with honed songwriting on debut, Bloomin’ Ocotillo
After assembling a lineup of seasoned local musicians who called the Midwest home like the band’s founder—bassist Kyle Douglas, lead guitarist Ryan Girard, and drummer Drew Dederer—Bandleader, Sam Shaffer has built his full band, Walkabouts. Since getting their bearings, the rising Austin act has been chipping away at the musical block to craft energetic live shows that drift between personable songwriting and dynamic rock-and-roll energy. For Walkabouts’ debut full-length, Bloomin’ Ocotillo, the Midwest-turned Austin musicians take a new stride that provokes thoughtful lyricism and massive instrumental triumph.
Walkabouts is an Austin band, but their origin story began back in Akron, Ohio, where songwriter and Walkabouts front man Sam Shaffer cut his teeth writing songs from an early age. Combining fuzzy desert rock with hints of psychedelia and dream pop, Shaffer’s musical diversity shows up with every tune the multi-instrumentalist pens. Since writing music as early as age 15, Shaffer morphed into a songwriting machine, churning out album after album of eclectic tunes that chronicle the songwriter’s life journey, which stretches three states. Since the disbandment of Shaffer’s previous act, Faintlife, which released four albums and spanned a vast array of shows throughout Shaffer’s time in Chicago, the prolific musician has worked tirelessly since making Austin his home base.
On opening track “Fancy Cup,” Shaffer and his trusted ensemble wade their way through a sea of guitar effects and ethereal soundscapes. The vocal melodies, backed by crisp instrumentation that welcomes listeners into Walkabouts’ world, layers tight instrumental music and Shaffer’s intimate words that cut deep. The guitar jam that closes the track is right on brand for this batch of tracks, performing on the record like they’re playing onstage, crashing cymbals and all. Since Shaffer’s solo release last year, Valley Of The Living Water, the open-mindedness of the band’s influences has continued to grow.
The post-punk vibes on “Dolly” are an emotional journey that plunges into a psych-rock freakout by song’s end. The dueling guitars between Girard and Shaffer are also a highlight, especially in the high-octane, fuzzed-out instrumental freakout that caps off the track. The variety of influences that show up on this release are recognizable and emulated tastefully; we can tell this isn’t Shaffer’s first rodeo; he’s done his homework and has been putting this into practice for some time. This also shows on “Differences,” whose extended runtime displays the strummed guitars and choral vocal harmonies striking chords in the vein of Wilco or massive ballads akin to My Morning Jacket. The glistening guitar leads on this track soothe the soul in a way that puts the listener into a meditation that makes you feel like you’re watching the band conceive a cathartic storytelling piece that tugs at the heartstrings, before diving into a world of shredding guitars and a stunning, reactive drum section that sends it all home.
“Keepsake” is a jangly guitar piece that dabbles in shoegaze. The mind-bending bassline that serves as the track’s backbone bodes well to float the robo-strummed, effects-ridden guitar strikes that carry this track until its end. A fiery closer for the record is a signage for its mission statement. For Austin music, there’s a lot to choose from, and Bloomin’ Ocotillo is a worthwhile endeavor that delves into a statement already gracing stages with Shaffer’s brand of creative and inspired tunes that show the band in unity. When Walkabouts reach for the stars lyrically or in a sonic frenzy of fuzzy ensemble jamming, the band goes to work, interlocked in a fashion of seamless bursts of ideas that never go unwritten.
Catch Walkabouts at the 13th Floor on Red River November 16.
Featured photo courtesy of Walkabouts
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