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Feb 02, 2016 Issue # 56 - Best of 2015 - Father John Misty and Wolf Alice By Joshua M. Miller

When your longtime band calls it quits, it can be a challenge setting off on your own and finding your own voice. The Walkmen’s Walter Martin took a fairly unconventional path, first with his 2014 solo debut, We’re All Young Together—an album geared towards families with farfetched stories about things like rattlesnakes and chimpanzees—and next with this year’s largely arts-centric Arts and Leisure. On Arts, Martin further uncorks and refines his own voice—one that’s largely honest, curious, humorous, and relatable—to share his unique view of the world. He picks unlikely subjects—like artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh—and small life details to frame songs around in a charming fashion. One of the album’s highlights is album opener “Jobs I Had Before I Got Rich and Famous,” a funny, self-depreciating and insightful look at the various jobs he’s had from delivering pizza to working at a museum and seeing Billy Joel. (www.waltermartinmusic.com)

Author rating: 7/10