It has been a long time coming. Some twenty-five years since the last album with founding member John Davis, the wonderful Folk Implosion have returned with Walk Thru Me. Originally formed in 1993, the band comprised Sebadoh’s Lou Barlow and John Davis, with the duo releasing three albums, numerous singles and EPs, as well as the well-received soundtrack to the harrowing movie Kids. With John having departed in 2001, Lou continued briefly, releasing The New Folk Implosion in 2003, before the band was gently laid to rest. It would not be until 2021 that they would return, with rumours of recording and the online release of expanded editions of the Walk Through This World EP and the Kids soundtrack. New music followed. In 2022, a single appeared (Feel It If You Feel It), with the It Just Goes With EP landing via Joyful Noise in 2023. While the band’s return to action may feel cautious, it has been more than worth the wait, with Walk Thru Me the follow up to One Part Lullaby that we all desperately wanted.
Initially, it seems little has changed in the world of Folk Implosion in the intervening years for, while the duo no longer amuse themselves by recording to videotape (as they did on Dare To Be Surprised), their soundscapes remain as mellifluous as ever – or at least for the first half of the album. It opens with the snappy Crepuscular, which neatly lays out the band’s stall – layered vocal harmonies, electronic percussion, indie guitar, and choruses that worm their way through your defences to lodge themselves away in your head for weeks to come. It’s surprisingly emotional to hear Lou and John together again, and the delightful chemistry they exhibited throughout their career comes flooding back. John takes the lead on The Day You Died, his vocal subtly distorted, as the bass prowls through the centre of the mix. The track even features a spoken word breakdown that sounds like Bob Dylan fronting Eels. Up next, the title track takes a slightly different tack, with minor key digressions giving the track a slightly darker edge, for all that the percussion remains light touch. In many ways, these grittier moments were always the band’s secret weapon (just listen to the sanguine bass on E.Z.L.A or the twisty guitar on Kingdom Of Lies), and Walk Thru Me is a perfect example as to how Lou and John manage to bridge the loveliest of choruses with sinister verses. In contrast, the whimsical My Little Lamb feels like the duo found themselves possessed by Neil Hannon, and the result is a track that floats past like ripples on the surface of a sun-dappled stream.
The first indication that all is not as it seems is when the duo wrap up the first half of the album with the dreamy psych rock of Bobblehead Doll, which sees John at the mic as Lou lets loose with his tremolo. A significant digression from the band’s earlier work, while it’s still undoubtedly Folk Implosion, its surprisingly funky bass and echo-washed vocals show that pair have learnt a few new tricks during their absence, and it ushers in a dynamic and often surprising second act.
The album’s second half finds the band engage with ever more eclectic pieces. As it opens, we find Folk Implosion tearing through the squally art rock of The Fable And The Fact – all awkward rhythms and post punk ambience – and this post punk thread continues into Right Hand Over The Heart, a brilliant piece that mixes the nimble guitar work of Dare To Be Surprised with the dark, tom-led work of The Cure. It’s followed by the dynamic Water Torture, which incorporates industrial rhythms, Eastern progressions, and John’s increasingly Dylan-esque vocals. A truly engaging piece, it holds the listener hooked, and it’s wonderful to hear the pair sounding this vital so long after their last venture. Lou returns to the mic for O.K. To Disconnect, which harks back to Harmacy-era Sebadoh, the grungier guitars set against abstract percussion before the track schizophrenically changes tone and tempo. It’s only for the final song that things return more-or-less to normal – Moonlit Kind proving to be a track in the classic Folk Implosion mould, with slinky vocals, elastic bass, and bouncy percussion, all of which help to see the album out on a high.
While the return of Folk Implosion would always have been incredibly welcome, it is all the more so because it not only finds Lou and John recapturing their old chemistry, but also exploring new sonic pastures. A delightfully unique project curated with care and passion by a pair of musicians who are able to shape their influences into something that is all their own, Walk Thru Me is a simple delight from start to finish. 9.5/10
