I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart

It's been interesting watching Butch Walker evolve over the course of his solo career -- from the over-produced, arena-ready Left of Self-Centered (little more than the fourth Marvelous 3 album...just without the rest of the band); to the slightly toned-down, slightly more focused love letter to 1970s AM radio, Letters; to his balls-out, make-no-mistakes ode to David Bowie, The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Let's-Go-Out-Tonites; to the introspective, near-masterpiece of Sycamore Meadows...and now, I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart finds Walker picking himself back up from the (literal) ashes of the previous album, forming a new backing band (the Black Widows), and having the most fun he's had with a record in a long time.
For those expecting a return to his amped-up, full-on rock releases, it might be a bit disappointing that ILIBWYHNH continues the Tom Petty/ELO-ish Americana rock from Sycamore Meadows, throwing in a bit of doo-wop, soul, and later-career Cars for good measure. It may seem like a bit of a mess on paper, however it's anything but -- in fact, this is one of Walker's strongest albums yet; not since the Marvelous 3's Hey! Album has he released an album full of nothing but solid tracks, possible hit after possible hit that will probably get ignored by the majority of the music-buying public.

In my (slightly biased) opinion, you can't go wrong with buying the whole thing; but if you're watching your pennies, or just want a sample to see if it fits your tastes, may I recommend:
"Canadian Ten"
"She Likes Hair Bands"
"Days/Months/Years"
"Fixed Gears and Broken Hearts" (an iTunes-only "bonus track")




And if you buy a physical copy of the album, you get a code for a free download of the above cover of Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me"


Take it as you will.