Joshua Ray Walker Brings The Landline “Telephone” To Life With Nostalgic New Single

The second single from his forthcoming record, Stuff.

In August, Joshua Ray Walker announced a new estate sale-inspired concept record following the release of his June record, Tropicana. At the time that Walker released Tropicana, he was undergoing chemotherapy treatment, dreaming about being on a beach and in the sun:

“I was at home for a year, without the ability to play shows or even take a vacation. Since I couldn’t leave town and go see a palm tree in real life, I started writing about them.

It’s the sort of place where you can order a piña colada at the pool bar and go wander down a nondescript beach. I couldn’t go to the beach, so I decided to bring the beach to me. Music has always been an escape for me.”

However, that was not the only project that he crafted while he was in the chemo chair. Stuff, slated for release on October 17 via East Dallas Records/Thirty Tigers, is noted to be Walker’s most ambitious concept album to date, inspired by items sold at an estate sale.

After experiencing a misdiagnosis (when doctors thought the cancer had spread to his lungs, but thankfully that was not the case), Walker wanted to use whatever time he left to create music, aiming to make 3 new albums, with Stuff being the second.

Stuff came from a place of contemplating what is valuable in life:

“Both my grandparents found value in things that had life left in them. At the time of writing these songs, I was really hoping that I had a second shot, some more life left in me, and I think that I projected that on a lot of these characters.” 

Walker quickly found a sense of nostalgia seeing the landline phone, recalling memories of late-night prank calls, spending time deep in conversation, and the times your parents begged you to get off the phone with your friends so they could call those they needed to.

“The first bill I ever paid was for my landline. My friends and I would stay up all night, talking for hours, prank calling strangers just to hear someone laugh or slam the phone down. If you ever had a landline, you know what I’m talking about. When the landline died, it felt like the telephone disappeared with it, at least the kind that connected more than just voices.”

Melodically, the song features a similar sense of nostalgia, with an upbeat melody that instantly hooks you after you hear the busy signal/interrupted call dial tone during the song’s intro. That busy signal plays into the lyrics flawlessly as Walker sings about a song of love or friendship that died, similarly to how intentional phone calls died with a landline.

“You always had me
To tell you something’s wrong
Luckily, the bad ones never lasted that long
When you hung me up
For one last time
My final bell rang,
My cord wrapped around me tight”

I never thought that a song surrounding an inanimate object could wash over me, leaving me feeling a lot of emotions and flooded with memories. But Walker is delivering on his mission to bring these inanimate objects to life through his lyrics, and “Telephone” is an incredible preview for what else is in store for Stuff.

Joshua Ray Walker has done it again with “Telephone.” Fire it up.

Stuff  Tracklist:

1) Stuff
2) Brick
3) Barbie
4) Perfume
5) Bowling Ball
6) Suit
7) Shears
8) Telephone
9) Radio (Cuchiarella / Banjo / Magic Set)
10) Home

Tour Dates

9/23 – Hopwell, VA – The Beacon Theatre #
9/25 – Wilmington, NC – Greenfield Lake Amphitheatre #
9/26 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle #
9/27 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel #
9/28 – Knoxville, TN – Tennessee Theatre #
9/30 – Savannah, GA – Victory North #

10/1 – Orlando, FL – The Plaza Live #
10/2 – Clearwater, FL – The Nancy and David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre #
10/4 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse #
10/6 – Dallas, TX – State Fair of Texas
10/10 – St. Louis, MO – The Hawthorn #
10/11 – Lawrence, KS – Liberty Hall #
10/12 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown #
10/14 – Bozeman, MT – The ELM #
10/16 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox #
10/17 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater #
10/18 – Medford, OR – Holly Theatre #
10/19 – Redding, CA – Cascade Theatre #
10/24 – Salt Lake City, UT – The CommonWealth Room #
10/25 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre #

11/12 – Appleton, WI – Poplar Hall #
11/13 – Wausau, WI – Grand Theater #
11/14 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater #
11/15 – Stoughton, WI – Stoughton Opera House #
11/16 – Iowa City, IA – The Englert Theatre #

# – with Molly TuttleThe post Joshua Ray Walker Brings The Landline “Telephone” To Life With Nostalgic New Single first appeared on Whiskey Riff.