Butch Walker And The Black Widows - The Spade Album Review

Born Bradley Glenn Walker, Butch Walker has had a varied involvement in the music business, from producing the likes of Weezer to touring with Pink or just appearing in videos for The Academy Is. This album is his second with The Black Widows and will see the band tour North America throughout October.

With guitar parts reminiscent of El Presidente, 'Bodegas And Blood' opens the record in a bright and promising fashion with a breezy guitar anthem. The style, but unfortunately not quality, emits from 'Everysinglebodyelse', whilst 'Summer of '89' is a pop-rock frat-anthem that will go down well at shows. 'Sweethearts' proves itself a chilled-out highlight, whilst 'Day Drunk' also has enough of a hook to grab attention, but at this point you can't help but feel there is a lack of longevity to the tunes.

Barring the couplet of 'Synthsizers' and 'Dublin Crow' , which are plain awful, the rest of the album is enjoyable enough whilst being listened to, but nothing stays with you. Even a successful blend of folk on 'The Closest Thing To You I'm Gonna Find' doesn't make the track any more memorable, despite being a pleasant number whilst playing. Without that key ingredient to truly make a lasting impression, 'The Spade' is nothing more than a nice listen, but far from essential.

Alex Lai