Dejected with the booze, heading straight downwards to the gutter, smoking some pure weed, embracing the miasma with open arms and getting to meet it better, but this is not a call to wrap up things prematurely. Honestly, whether it went South sometimes, this piece of dirt guitar, bass oozed, storytelling vocal phantom, a shrapnel of the past with a look to the future, fevered Blues Rock of veterans, had me somewhat mystified. For a while there I thought to myself that I was reliving an old mystery tale of the late 50's or at least one that originated in the flowery years of the 60's. The trouper chaps from Seattle seemed to have enough knowledge of how to take hold of the mind by the balls. Never mind the fact that the band's bass player is VELVET REVOLVER / ex-GUN'S N' ROSES' Duff McKagan, or the datum that his peers were a part of the Grunge Rock scene that came out knocking relentlessly throughout the early to mid 90's, WALKING PAPERS stepped in as a different Rockablity tumbling the Blues, American vintage spirituality with a fuzz and a certain kind of gloom that has a yielding effect.

Over the last year I notice how Blues Rock became rather popular, bands issuing a swift comeback to the 70's and sticking around there, reappearing vintage vibes that have been missed for a long time while not being able to reshape under the plastic MTV Rock perversions. However, there are always different angles to every chosen move and what WALKING PAPERS fulfilled on their debut self-titled, via Loud And Proud Records, is a shady showcase, a little obscure, especially with the usage of the special effects of the instruments such as vibraphone and marimbas (my first time tuning to this instruments in a new age Rock records), with the ability to capture attention with its semi singing, semi narrative song patterns. Nothing too catchy, needless to say cheesy, just simple straight hearted honest Rock, with that night time street driven, displaying stories of what appeared to be of the far old days of something, in a place unknown (guesses can be a treat but also a pain). I thought about defragging the music up for you, in a twisted dissection, but I have to admit that in this particular case it was quite tough, as the album's tightness and musicality can't be analyzed into fragments. Though I mentioned obscurity earlier, everything appeared to be connected in such a sick manner, as if any instrument or riff were to absent and it would gone bonkers.

However, I must indicate the WALKING PAPERS appeared to be obsessed with the atmosphere around them than discharging power moments such as crafty soloing of pure ache or energetic rhythm section demonstrations, and I can say the same of the vocals, which sometimes sounded a little stoned or plainly sitting by the fire with a guitaring and singing. Furthermore, there were occasions where the band's storytelling or mesmerizing atmospheric takeover, were just too much and even tiring for a while. On the other hand, there were the others. "Two Tickets And A Room", both studio and live version, which attributed to a classic drenched Blues Rock dirt pool, scribing a low gear THIN LIZZY meets a tad of Hendrix, binding solo magnet and a hell of a story to tell. "I'll Stick Around" is where I found myself looking outside to the cold night, listening to the imagination of a poet, engrossed by the brushing softness of gentle riffing to be elevated by a colossus 70's lead guitar pleasing. "The Butcher" is even farther into the mind's wilderness, a pure stroll of solitude, slowly breathing and tuning to the tale, the piano leading this short interval from Rockin', picturing a scene as if it was from a darkened movie, simple admirable. I would add the Rock fueled "Capital T" and "The Whole World's Watching" as two potential maestros of great vintage Rock sense.

So there you have it, a tumble in the past while thinking of the future, which is what I think of WALKING PAPERS. For a debut, I believe that it is a fine result, hazy scenery, nostalgic affections, lots of experience and true amazing vibe.