Barry Walker Jr. - Shoulda Zenith LP

The pedal steel's the kind of instrument that is incredibly evocative when used 'a long lonesome sound, an image of wide open plains' but is so often relegated to background texture. No longer! The third album from Portland-based pedal steel player Barry Walker Jr. takes up the mantle of the Cosmic Country genre that seems to be floating around the place of late, but pushes it even further beyond with the pedal steel right up front. Eight instrumentals (rounded out by a ninth lilting country song) that range from atmospheric country-ambience (think Yo La Tengo's Green Arrow), to the far out maximalism of 1960s Sonny Sharrock at full tilt. In between these poles two poles: Kraut-adjacent grooves, Steve Heitt drift, and melodies that remind me of those on the last Bill Orcutt LP. Highly recommended for those summer holiday zone-outs! -Mitch