Barry Walker Jr. – “Son, Don’t Brighten The Bear Creek Rhyolite”

Getting closer to some anticipated 2026 releases now that the year is rolling, and top of the list is this new record from Barry Walker Jr. (Mouth Painter, North Americans). Walker’s solo releases have been captivating for years, and paired last year with fellow members of RCB he pushed even further into the cosmos of his psych-country sojourn as the Barry Walker Unit. Walker turns up with a new ensemble for his latest on Thrill Jockey, this time pairing with Rob Smith (Rhyton, Gray/Smith) and Jason Willmon (Mouth Painter). The pair shade in the edges of Walker’s works, but it’s still his inimitable pedal steel at the center. The aura from his past solo albums remains, a meditative atmosphere with ties to the natural world, stretching like endless vistas that touch Cosmic Americana and Ambient Country in equal measures. “Son, Don’t Brighten The Bear Creek Rhyolite” dips over the horizon like the last rays of an amber autumn sun. The new record, Paleo Sol, arrives soon, hitting shelves January 30th from Thrill Jockey.

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