Chicago’s Ryley Walker has strewn across multiple genres over the years. Releasing albums that have jazzy notes alongside singer songwriter progressions, his wonderful music is often hard to place a finger on. With his new single however, he digs in deep to bring a gnarled guitar to “Diggin’ a Ditch,” echoing the likes of Husker Du and Dinosaur Jr in the process.

To be fair, you could also liken the song to the works of Sebadoh, as Walker has always had those Lou Barlow sounding vocals. That’s not to say that the song isn’t original, because it is. The way the song is laid out with fuzzy guitar and heavy hitting drums, the way he drops in an acoustic as if he’s checking to see if you’re listening, and the prose together, they’re all Walker.

You can stream “Diggin’ a Ditch” on all streaming sites, you can purchase the single from all digital outlets, or you can preorder his new album The Lillywhite Sessions directly from Dead Oceans before it gets released on November 16. Ryley Walker will be on tour beginning November 06 in Berlin at Frannz Club and ending December 28 in Chicago at The Empty Bottle. His complete tour dates can be found here. 

Image Credits: Photo by Evan Jenkins.