Peter Walker – Young Gravity / 2006 Dangerbird / 11 Tracks / http://www.peterwalkermusic.com / http://www.dangerbirdrecords.com / Reviewed 03 March 2006

It is a challenge to not put Peter Walker alongside acts like John Maher, but there seems to be a talent present in Walker’s music on “Young Gravity” that is just not there on “Room for Squares”. There is a mixture of styles during “What Do I Know” that ranger from Joseph Arthur to Sean Lennon and the shoegazing rock of The Red Hot Valentines; the music is compelling and catchy while working with a tension between the slower and quicker elements of the track. Each of the tracks on “Young Gravity” are ready for the big time of college rock radio; even though there is not much in the way of commonality in the styles of “What Do I Know” and “39 Stars”, the one thing that really links both of the tracks together is the fact that Walker is that he is damn talented.

There is a mixture of forms present during “39 Stars” that mix together the alt-country of acts like Uncle Tupelo with “In Utero”-era Nirvana; the population of the music-listening public that can latch onto the diverse set of influences on “Young Gravity” is huge. A track like the title track could be disastrous to the early stages of the disc (this is set up as the cleanup hitter on the disc), but Peter Walker uses this slower tempo to have a richer instrumentation given to eir that exponentially increases the gravity present on this album.

The tempo that is present during “Don’t Think Twice” is in a middle ground between the quicker one achieved during “What Do I Know” and the drastically-reduced speed of “Young Gravity”; it is actually the instrumentation during the track, sounding like windchimes, that really captures listeners’ interest during this track. Throughout the entirety of “Young Gravity”, listeners are bombarded by the dreamy vocals of Walker and an inspired set of arrangements that put the set of tracks well beyond what is usually heard on radio. The songs on “Young Gravity” may all be ready for high rotation, but the arrangements show a desire of Walker to be a complete investment of a listener’s attention into this album. This is just not something one can put on and zone out to; during songs like “Talk To You”, so many things happen that individuals will need to dissect to gain another understanding to the song. This greater enjoyment will mean that “Young Gravity” is an album that has tremendous replay value and a high value.

Top Tracks: Talk To You, What Do I Know

Rating: 7.6/10

[JMcQ]