I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart was recorded over a few short weeks and Walker dubbed the group the Black Widows, who consist of Fran Capitanelli (guitars), Chris Unck (guitar/lap steel), Jake Sinclair (bass), Darren Dodd (drums) and Wesley Flowers (keyboard). The strings you hear on the record were recorded at Abbey Road. The band's consistency and chemistry give the record more of a live organic band feel, something not felt since his last Marvelous 3 record. Unlike Sycamore Meadows or Letters I didn't feel this album encompasses an overriding theme, however, repeat listens has revealed this to be one of Walker's most accomplished discs. He doesn't share much about his personal life in interviews, but it doesn't stop the listened from making assumptions as to what every record is about. I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart is more of a collection of stories wrapped up in bustling and captivating arrangements. This time around, the songs are filled with meticulous nuances in the lyrics. It's almost as if he's mastered the third person narrative channeling the Nashville greats who wrote from a distance yet pulled the listener in like a captivating fiction writer. The album's opener "Trash Day" commences the storytelling into an acoustic led charmer that positions the listener as a fly on the wall observing people's lives. There is a dreamy wonderment to "Pretty Melody" while "Don't You Think Someone Should Take You Home" is a lesson in restraint. A decade back Walker may have been layering the track with unnecessary layers, but here you can value its minimalism with his voice, guitar, nominal percussion and a smidgen of horns and violin thrown in for good measure. "They Don't Know What We Know" could be a lost cut found on a collection of fifties songs from Time Life. "Stripped Down Version" paints a dreamy landscape with a sparse yet enthralling guitar echo that compliments the"ahh's" that wrap up the song. Words of wisdom on "She Likes Hair Bands" is a perfect play on words, "So Baby, lay down/Nobody is around/Watching as our bodies/Slowly sinking to the ground" with a chorus and arrangement that is downright contagious. Then there's the song with the line that makes you ponder your existence, "Sometimes you heal as much as you hurt" comes from "Canadian Ten" and let me tell you, if Buddy Holly were alive he'd smile.

The album's most expressive song is also its most stark. With a lone acoustic guitar, Walker delivers "Be Good Until Then", in a graciously affecting approach that imparts a compelling poignant punch to the heart. Written for his son, Walker created a song that swells your eyes without being flashy. The one verse that moves me most is;" You don't have to try so hard/ To be the best. Just know you are/And that's all that'll matter to me". Beneath the tattooed rocker is a man with heart and soul and these words will not only be heard by his son, but by his listeners as well, who, if they're lucky will take heed to his words of wisdom. The melding on influences on this record is absorbing and with each listen, each song proves to be not just revealing but truly stirring. Boogie-woogie piano blues, introspective acoustic musings, strings descended from ELO and ultimately is houses passion that is one hundred percent Butch Walker.

Ever since debuting on the music scene two decades back, Butch Walker has proven to be a chameleon, continually evolving and dispatching what he knows for an unknown terrain. All of this from an artist who knows a thing or two about ferocious six-string riffs and melodies so tasty you engulfs them in one swift bite. Despite this penchant for melody, he has continually tested himself and his talent and continually thrusts himself to the furthermost extremes. Instead of pursuing fads or fashions, Walker has followed his own muse and made more than just a living for himself, but has molded a career that I'll follow up until the end. Every artist yearns for this, but at times is scared of pushing the envelope for fear of alienating those who love your music. Butch Walker knows that if he continued to crank the amp up to "11", he would be dishonest with himself and prove himself to be limiting. Life is about broadening your knowledge through new experiences and reveling in the beauty of discovery and no artist on the planet is augmenting their life more than Walker, the proof is in the records.

Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.