There’s an age-old question that all of us, music lovers, should be asking ourselves. With the rise of technology, what’s the future of music? And I think I have an answer for that question. K. Walsh had just released his newest album, ‘A Light in the Darkness‘. Join me as I discuss this album in light and read why I feel I have answered our age-old question.
The LP started with ‘North of the City’, which has this folk/country progression because of the chord progression and the overall melodical approach. When I initially listened to it, it felt like I was riding my bike on a deserted highway where the sun was setting east. The song structure is what made this track stand out.
The song structure is verse-chorus-instrumental, then back to verse again, which happened like 3 times. It’s rare to hear and experience that type of structure because that was prominent in the early to late 90s.
‘Hand Me Your Heart’ has this funk meets country approach because of the groovy blues bass lick that works simultaneously with that bluesy/funky lead guitar lick. Then, in the latter part of the track, there was a tempo change that created texture in the overall feel of the track that created genuine interest in me and probably to future listeners of this track.
‘Fly, Fly Away’ has this very unique and interesting acoustic guitar tone that I can’t tell if it’s directly connected in an interface or they put a live microphone in the sound hole to portray that ‘wood’ tone. This track is an instrumental and a great way to showcase how good K.Walsh and the rest of his players are.
That strat-like throathy guitar tone in ‘Take Me Back’ feels like eating a medium-rare steak. It’s juicy, it’s oozing with flavors, and it just hits the spot. The keyboard licks added in the latter part of the track are screaming dirty blues. You can’t deny the talent and creativity that K. Walsh has in this track.
For ‘Liam Neeson’, K. Walsh introduced us to his jaunty and somewhat aggressive style of creating music. Again, I’m fascinated with the idea of how the drums were recorded in this track. It doesn’t sound like a program. It sounds and feels like a player was sitting behind that kit.
Now ‘It’s Your Time to Shine’ is in that aggressive approach because of its tempo, vocal progression, and that aggressive yet quantized guitar tone. We are six tracks in, and K.Walsh’s dedication to creating a separate guitar tone in each track is just on a whole different level.
‘Days Gone By’ started with this acoustic guitar lick alongside that unison vocal melody that was really interesting because it sounds and feels like it has a different theme compared to the previous tracks in this album. It only goes to show the level of creativity and willingness that K. Walsh has when it comes to getting out of your comfort zone.
‘Chupacabra Blues’ is from the title itself, blues. But the catch is, the bass is the one leading the track. I have to give props to K. Walsh for this. As a bass player myself, it’s very rare that we get to lead songs, and to highlight the bass is already a thumbs up for us. Thank you.
‘Hatfield’s Blues’ has this very interesting violin intro that works perfectly with that minor note progression. It created an uneasy yet easy listening vibe to the track as a whole. The vocal melody and tone have a touch of R&B and country, which adds a colorful texture to the track.
‘The Oceans of Titan’ is, in itself, a sound exploration that blows the overall theme of the album in a good way. It creates this electronic meets country vibe because of the use of synth samples, but still leveraging that country song structure approach, plus the delay guitar lick that perfectly creates this division between future and past.
And to end this album, we have ‘New Day’ that has that same electronic meets country approach, but has the saxophone as the one leading the track.
The ‘A Light in the Darkness’ LP by K. Walsh is a great exploration into music evolution. From country to electronic, it might probably be the approach that all of us music lovers and artists should be aiming for. How can and how will we adapt to the future.
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About the Author
He has been in the music industry for two and a half decades. Currently, he plays bass guitar for a rock-reggae band called EnjointPh and a funk-fusion trio called Banky. He also hosts a podcast titled Usapang Musiko with Ervin Besana, which explores topics such as music, arts, and philosophy.
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