Just two months after the surprise release of Tropicana, singer-songwriter Joshua Ray Walker has announced its follow-up.
Stuff, which will arrive Oct. 17 on East Dallas Records, is a departure for Walker, who embraces a sparer, folkier aesthetic on the record’s title track and lead single, out now.
Of the single, Walker said in a statement: “This song is a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and an introduction to my most ambitious concept record to date. I hope people will connect with it, even though it’s just about ‘stuff.’”
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The 10-song album is focused on the inner lives of inanimate objects. The project was conceived while Walker underwent treatment last year for stage 3B colon cancer. He is now cancer-free.
“At the time of writing these songs, I was really hoping that I had a second shot, some more life in me, and I think that I projected that on a lot of these characters,” Walker said in a statement.
Stuff is the second of three planned albums Walker wrote while convalescing, and he worked with producer John Pedigo to fashion the songs in the vein of Bon Iver and The Postal Service, utilizing unconventional instruments like toy reed organs, banjolele and melodica.
“It’s probably lofty to think that an album about bowling balls and Barbie dolls is going to make people think about their relationship with their neighbors or community,” Walker said in a statement. “But maybe subconsciously, if people can connect with these things that aren’t even people, it’ll make them a little better at connecting with people.”
Walker, fresh from playing the Grand Ole Opry on Aug. 22, will be on the road well into November. His next hometown gig will be a highly visible one: He’s scheduled to play at the State Fair of Texas on Oct. 6.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky (@prestonjones.bsky.social).Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
Source: https://kxt.org/2025/08/joshua-ray-walker-wants-you-to-connect-with-his-stuff-on-new-lp-out-oct-17/
