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PREORDER
Ships When IN STOCK.
01. Barry Walker Jr. - Quiessence
02. Barry Walker Jr. - Son, Don't Brighten The Bear Creek Rhyolite
03. Barry Walker Jr. - Leaving Lower Big Basin
04. Barry Walker Jr. - A Trip Into Town
05. Barry Walker Jr. - Under Leaf Hill
06. Barry Walker Jr. - Peridot, Call Me
07. Barry Walker Jr. - Sentient Lithosphere
08. Barry Walker Jr. - Aether Ore
ARTIST
TITLE
Paleo Sol
FORMAT
LP

LABEL
CATALOG #
THRILL 642LP THRILL 642LP
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
1/30/2026

LP version. "Barry Walker Jr. is a pedal steel player and guitarist whose roots in Americana, country and folk traditions influence his melding of minimalism, ambient and spiritual music. The Portland-based instrumentalist is also a member of the Rose City Band, known for his gorgeous phrasing and deft interplay with guitarist Ripley Johnson. On Paleo Sol, Walker demonstrates his singular voice as a pedal steel player and composer. Evoking the American western ranges and basins, the album embodies a longer, geologic view of time that patiently marvels at the ripples of change throughout lifetimes and ages. Walker is joined on Paleo Sol by drummer Rob Smith (Rhytion, Pigeons) and bassist and Mouth Painter bandmate Jason Willmon (Fruited Planes). Paleo Sol's tranquil landscapes glide, built on warm finger-picked guitar figures and pedal steel swells coupled with deft percussion and bass touches by Smith and Willmon respectively. The trio plays with exceptional fluidity either completing each other's' phrasing or working together to build momentum. Smith notes: 'The drums are not keeping time as much as evidencing its elasticity, mixing into the other instruments, changing phase states.' Every gesture on the album is rich with intention, moving with grace and playing with timbre and time. The pieces of Paleo Sol were composed during a monumental shift in Walker's own life, around the birth of his first child. Walker's compositions are guided by a serenity and gentleness that makes for a dreamy soundtrack. His acumen as a composer and instrumentalist are on full display on Paleo Sol. The album is a gorgeous reflection of Walker's own internal world as well as the detailed environment he's spent so much of his life exploring as a field geologist.

"In human reckoning, the essence of the solid earth is mostly still. Those engaged in deep time inquiry recognize the vigor of Earth's behavior, and quiescence is a small part of the action." --Barry Walker

"This is drift music, sustained by dusky drones and quiet fingerstyle. Everything's as gentle as a sunkissed stream. The pathways that once felt free and clear now sport an uneasy shade, yet the guitar picks on." --NPR Music