Butch Walker
doesn't disguise that his 2022 album finds him playing a role. Specifically, he's playing a piano man called Glenn, a storyteller fated to sing his heart out at dive bars where the audience is half-listening as they're preoccupied by their own problems. You don't need to be a pop scholar to witness the overt connections to
Billy Joel
's "Piano Man," as
Walker
has designed the album to be a living sequel to that piano bar classic, filled with songs that could possibly be played in these dead-end dives, all crafted to evoke memories of the golden age of soft rock. It's possible to enjoy
Butch Walker as...Glenn
as pure pastiche, enjoying its muscular melodies as much as its smooth surfaces, but the record is even more fun if you can recognize
's inspirations, which are not limited to piano men. "Roll Away (Like a Stone)" rampages forth like an outtake from
Boz Scaggs
's
Silk Degrees
, "Tell Me I'm Pretty (Bethamphetamine Pt 2)" carries a swagger reminiscent of what
Bruce Springsteen
copped from
Thin Lizzy
, while "State-Line Fireworks" is an expert evocation of
Jim Steinman
's best work for
Meat Loaf
. Of course,
doesn't forget the piano men: "Holy Water Hangover" recalls
Elton John
's gospel inspirations, "The Negotiator" is
by way of
Spoon
, and "Slow Leak" mimics the gorgeous, stately ballads
Todd Rundgren
wrote for
Hermit of Mink Hollow
. The net effect of all these nods is that
plays not like a night out at a nowhere saloon but rather an oldies station filled with favorite tunes you've never heard before. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine