New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Walter Martin (co-writer/multi-instrumentalist of The Walkmen) will release his new album Reminisce Bar & Grill on February 16th via Ile Flottante Music. His fourth solo record since The Walkmen's hiatus in 2013, it's one that might throw fans of his two award winning kids' records (2014's We're All Young Together and last year's My Kinda Music) for a loop. Listeners will still recognize the same affable narrator and quirky musical style, but here the subject matter is shifted dramatically. With frankness, poignancy and humor, Martin, now a 43-year-old married man with two young children, squarely tackles the subject of adulthood - specifically, his own.
Today, Martin released his reflective new song "Ride Down The Avenue," debuted this morning on Billboard, in which he finds himself "thinking through a hard year" as he drives through the night with his sleeping wife and children while scenes from his past come in and out of focus. Listen to "Ride Down The Avenue" below:
"I think this is my mid-life crisis album," said Walter. "These days my friends and I all seem to be thinking the same dark thoughts - 'What the hell am I doing? What the hell's going on? I'm lost. I'm running out of time and I'm doing everything wrong. And I'm probably dying.' This is definitely an insane period," he continues, "but most of the time I kind of love it."
Reminisce Bar & Grill was announced last month with a surprise appearance on NPR Music's Tiny Desk in which he performed two of his new songs with a full band and a barbershop quartet. It was followed shortly after by the release of the lead single "I Can Run Now From The Hellhounds But I Can't Hide" which Consequence of Sound called "likely to be one of the more upbeat musings you'll hear about the fear of impending death."
While Martin approaches these subject matters with candor and sincerity, he clearly also enjoys mining them for humor. "I wanted this album to be an entertaining discussion of marriage, fatherhood, work, fear, and weakness," he explained. "I'm definitely influenced by Woody Allen movies. No matter how serious or romantic or dark his story may be, there's always a strong undercurrent of comedy."
Reminisce Bar & Grill was recorded at various studios in Brooklyn and at Richard Swift's National Freedom Studio in Cottage Grove Oregon. The songs were mixed by D. James Goodwin (Bob Weir, Craig Finn), Richard Swift (The Shins, Foxygen) and Phil Ek (Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses). A nimble multi-instrumentalist, Martin handled guitar, piano, organ, bass and percussion duties, but he also relied on the services of a coterie of crafty players and singers: Brian Kantor (Fruit Bats) on drums, Josh Kaufman (Craig Finn, Josh Ritter) on guitar, and Jamie Krents (French Kicks) on bass. The soaring harmony vocals woven throughout the album are delivered by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah singer Alec Ounsworth.
Track List:
1) Me & McAlevey
2) Too Cold To Waterski
3) I Went Alone On A Solo Australian Tour
4) I Can Run Now From The Hellhounds But I Can't Hide
5) I'm A Puppy
6) The Drummer
7) Ride Down The Avenue
8) I Wanna Be A Country Singer
9) Pink Piano
10) Colorado Lonesome
11) I Dreamed I Was Lana Del Rey's Older Brother
