Butch Walker – Peachtree Battle

Butch Walker has carved out quite the career over the past quarter century. A musical chameleon, he started as a teenager with-hair metal (Southgang) before moving on to glam-rock (The Floyds), and crunchy alternative (Marvelous 3). In 2002 he embarked on a solo career that has undergone an identity transformation every few years (not unlike David Bowie.)

Nowadays he’s known more for his production work than his recordings. He’s produced and/or written songs for Pink, Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry and *ahem* Lindsay Lohan as well as Gob, Weezer and Dashboard Confessional and countless others.

His live show is absurdly entertaining. He oozes charisma. He can write a killer hook in the same amount of time it will take you to read this post. Yet it can be hard to predict where he’ll land stylistically with each release.

The past couple records have seen Butch adopting his Georgia roots and flavouring his music with a southern tinge. This was especially apparent on his album “The Spade.” Surprisingly, his “Peachtree Battle” EP doesn’t stray too far. There’s a bit more bombast this time around as the rockers “I’ve Been Waiting For This” and “Coming Home” have been blown up to arena-size proportions while the title track is among his most intimate. As usual the choruses will stay in your head for days. Especially on finale “Let It Go Where It’s Supposed To.”

After twenty-five years it seems Butch Walker has found his niche, which is why I wouldn’t be surprised to see him headed in a completely different direction three years from now.