{"id":33675,"date":"2018-01-10T09:02:03","date_gmt":"2018-01-09T22:02:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=33675"},"modified":"2018-01-10T09:02:03","modified_gmt":"2018-01-09T22:02:03","slug":"walking-papers-release-new-album-wp2-january-19th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2018\/01\/walking-papers-release-new-album-wp2-january-19th\/","title":{"rendered":"WALKING PAPERS to release new album, ‘WP2’ on January 19th"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>Put up or shut up. It\u2019s a mantra many rock bands of today tend to give great lip service to, but often fail to deliver the goods to back up their lofty claims. The hard-rocking Seattle quartet Walking Papers knows exactly how to forge the sounds that back up everything they want to be as a vibrant creative entity. \u201cThere\u2019s no excuse to not be great anymore,\u201d believes WP frontman, guitarist\/vocalist Jefferson Angell. \u201cEveryone now has access to everything related to music, right at their fingertips \u2014 every recorded sound, endless lessons for kids to learn every guitar lick, and the very foundation of music and where it all comes from. In a weird way, I think that raises the bar for what artists need to do with their own work.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Indeed, Walking Papers have upped the sonic ante with the lucky 13 tracks put forth on their aptly dubbed second album\u00a0WP2<\/i>, which is set for release on January 19, 2018 from Loud & Proud Records. Once again deploying the in-sync production handiwork of mixmasters Jack Endino (Soundgarden, Nirvana, Mudhoney) and Martin Feveyear (Mark Lanegan, Kings of Leon, Queens of the Stone Age), and mastered by Chris Hanzsek,\u00a0WP2<\/i>\u00a0builds on the promising template of the band\u2019s self-titled 2013 debut, which featured deeply impactful tracks like \u201cThe Whole World\u2019s Watching\u201d and \u201cCapital T.\u201d\u00a0WP2<\/i>\u00a0brings the band into their wholly ascendant second phase with aurally galvanizing statements like the fuzztastic footstomper \u201cDeath on the Lips,\u201d the anthemic buildup of \u201cRed & White,\u201d and the delicate yet forceful declarative shuffle of \u201cDon\u2019t Owe Me Nothin\u2019.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Perhaps the Walking Papers band manifesto is best described via a few key lines from \u201cMy Luck Pushed Back,\u201d the driven opening-track dirge that kicks off the whole\u00a0WP2<\/i>\u00a0ride: \u201cThe truth is somewhere in the middle\/Yeah, that\u2019s why I prefer the edge.\u201d Angell very much agrees, noting, \u201cI try to incorporate a sense of sarcasm and humility into my songs and the characters who reside in them to show how ridiculous people can be sometimes. But at the same time, in some of those songs, I can be who I want to be in society \u2014 a considerate, compassionate, empathetic human being. But not always!\u201d he adds with a hearty laugh.<\/div>\n
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The true secret sauce of Walking Papers lies within the push-pull collaborative connection between Angell and drummer Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees, Mad Season, and 2017 Latin Grammy producer nominee). \u201cBarrett and I sometimes come at things from different directions,\u201d Angell admits. \u201cThere\u2019s some creative tension, sure, but the music benefits from it. If you have an idea and you\u2019re not willing to fight for it, then maybe it\u2019s not that good of an idea in the first place. In our band, everybody has a lot of good ideas that we\u2019re all willing to fight for. Sometimes it\u2019s painful, but at the end of the day, we all feel really good about what we\u2019ve accomplished together.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Standing one\u2019s ground while in the studio leads to ultimately better song results. \u201cPeople aren\u2019t shy in this band about letting the others know their opinions, that\u2019s for sure \u2014 but that\u2019s also why I think the music we all came up with here is that good,\u201d Angell continues. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of collaboration on the album, but not a lot of compromise. If it\u2019s art, it should reflect a vision that\u2019s taken as far as it can be in order to satisfy that vision. For a song to have made it to the final album, it had to pass a pretty rigid test from the other three people in the band to get there.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Of course, having a low-end impresario like Duff McKagan (Guns N\u2019 Roses, Velvet Revolver) handling the bass duties doesn\u2019t hurt either. \u201cHe\u2019s got so much going on with his other legendary successes that he certainly didn\u2019t have to keep working with us,\u201d Angell concedes. \u201cBut I think our grassroots approach inspired him, and reminded him why he got into playing rock \u2018n\u2019 roll in the first place. And that in turn inspired us to up our game and keep coming up with better and better material. It\u2019s because of all those things that I think we created something here that\u2019s really special. In a way, I feel like divine intervention stepped in, rather than it being just my personal creation.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Angell also has a deep respect for keyboardist Benjamin Anderson. \u201cBen is like the George Harrison of the band,\u201d he clarifies. \u201cHe won\u2019t bring in 15 separate ideas, but the ones he does present to us really stand out. He\u2019s an incredible, thoughtful musician.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The vocalist\/guitarist says he\u2019s much more interested in harnessing the impact a fully realized album can have on listeners. \u201cMusic is a linear artform, but nowadays, there are those people who just want to come up with that quick fix \u2014 and that level of desperation is a repulsive cologne,\u201d Angell observes. \u201cThey\u2019re trying so hard to cram everything into those first 30 seconds to get people\u2019s attention, but I think something gets lost at that point. It\u2019s more repellant than it is an invitation. I definitely feel pressured by that sometimes, but I also feel music needs time to spread out and be what it wants to be. The music we\u2019re making is for people who want to take the time to get into a record and give it the time it needs to percolate. We\u2019re not about delivering high-fructose content to chase after those short-term radio hits that ultimately just disappear.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Angell is willing to acknowledge that sometimes, when you\u2019re in the business of making music, \u201cgood enough\u201d is, well,\u00a0not<\/i>\u00a0good enough. \u201cAs artists, you should be trying to create new things, and once you do that, you want to move on and try something else,\u201d the songwriter notes. \u201cIf you\u2019re merely re-creating something, then you\u2019re just turning out a product. And that\u2019s\u00a0not<\/i>\u00a0what we do.\u201d<\/div>\n

Drummer Barrett Martin adds, “This new Walking Papers album reflects the three years we spent on the road throughout Europe, North America, and Australia. It shows a band that has played a couple hundred shows together, and perhaps more importantly, it shows the evolution of our songwriting and arranging skills. Although we’re still rooted in the blues, soul, and classic rock, this album show a lot more musical diversity and exploration in how our songs are recorded and delivered to our audience.”<\/p>\n

Forging their creative energy into something new is one of Walking Papers\u2019 ultimate goals. \u201cWe\u2019re all standing on the shoulders of giants in some ways,\u201d Angell concludes, \u201cbut I feel the songs on\u00a0WP2<\/i>\u00a0live in their own world.\u201d And just what does that world sound like? \u201cThat world sounds very much like Walking Papers. The songs define a sound of their own. If you\u2019re not taking your music to a new place or bringing people directly to the source, then why bother?\u201d Truer words, as the saying goes. With\u00a0WP2<\/i>, Walking Papers have inked an indelible sonic contract that guarantees your ears will gladly come back for more.<\/div>\n
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Jefferson Angell \u2013 Vocals, Guitar
Barrett Martin \u2013 Drums, Vibes, Percussion, Backing Vocals
Duff McKagan \u2013 Bass
Benjamin Anderson \u2013 Keyboards, Backing Vocals<\/p>\n

To pre order WP2 go HERE<\/a><\/p>\n