![]() Dan Spalding had some mighty bass boots to fill, clearly, but his work on the wonderful “Stood Up At The Gates Of Heaven” propels that one along, while the ecclesiastical theme seems to continue with the hymn-like “Going Nowhere” – and indeed, we must praise Benjamin Anderson for his essentially MVP display throughout. The primal wail of “Divine Intervention”, with its low-slung lick clocks in at over eight minutes, but like the rest, it is astonishingly compelling. Make no mistake, though, these are catchy songs, with choruses to die for. And his lyrics, sound like poetic musings. “The Value Of Zero” is best described as “darkly blues”, and its line of “trust no one, question everything” seems to frame the record as a whole. What “The Light Below” has is actually hard to pin down, beyond that it is a huge, sprawling thing (the 12 songs are well over an hour), ambition, which Walking Papers manage to pull off entirely on their own terms. The real value, surely, is in what they don’t do.Įveryone knows the history, right? Barrett Martin and Duff McKagan were in the band (rule one of journalism is you never assume knowledge, but if you don’t know them, then you aren’t worthy of my explanation), but this version of the band has neither. But they are, very much a rock n roll band. Because, Jeff Angell and his boys are a rock n roll band like no other. All joking aside, it’s the type of nonsense that makes my blood boil.Īnd yet, Walking Papers. These thoughts in mind, the time lapse continues on “Creation Reproduction And Death,” a song which covers a good range of tricks of the trade while bringing them to life in peaceful yet direct manner.It sounds like something that a pretentious arsehole would say (I am only one of those things to be fair) when discussing opera or something: “the real value is in what they don’t play”. It reminds you that memories are to be remembered, but there is no future for a memory. After all, dwelling on that which can not be changed is only grounds to aggravate the undead demons of yesterday. Moving on, “Going Nowhere” determines if the past is where it should stay. This monotonous expedition is carried on through “What Did You Expect,” “Devine Intervention,” but also “Stood Up At The Gates Of Heaven.” With this very solid lineup of players at the helm, plus Aaron Spiro handling production, the twelve track album starts with the honest, yet cynical “The Value Of Zero.” From here The Light Below spins its antenna into a more spiritual direction that seemingly grasps at the reigns through the strength of a higher power. ![]() Now returning with a follow up to 2018’s Wp2, on board for The Light Below are Dan Spalding on bass, Will Andrews on drums, Angell’s bandmate from The Missionary Position, Benjamin Anderson on keyboards, along with appearances from Stone Temple Pilots’ Dean DeLeo playing some guitar and Gregor Lothian tuning in with the saxophone. ![]() ![]() Those whom have followed the band over the last decade are also well aware that at one point Duff McKagan was a part of the team, but has since left due to his full-time commitment to Guns N’ Roses, and for Walking Papers’ 2013 debut album, Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready offered contributions as well. Which leads us to the newest release from Walking Papers, The Light Below due out on February 5th, 2021 through Carry On Music.įresh out of the Blues Rock scene, the Seattle based Walking Papers was started by The Missionary Position’s Jeff Angell (vocals) along with Screaming Trees’ Barrett Martin (drums). Causing economical destruction on a global scale, while live music may be on pause in most places, new albums are thankfully here to stay. With everything going on in the world these days, it acts as more of a life blood since the entire music industry has taken such a heavy blow due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Creativity and musical expression is the spice of life.
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