There’s few times when albums come out of seemingly nowhere and perfectly capture as specific time and feel. The first time this happened for me was Yellowcard’s Ocean Avenue. A friend introduced me to them in early high school and that album quickly became the soundtrack to my summers in the late ’00s. To this day it still evokes very specific emotions and memories. I’m certain we all have at least one or two albums like that from artists which we were previously unaware of, and suddenly their latest album becomes a mixtape for your life at that moment. It’s why we love music and why we keep searching out more and more.
Gloom Cruise from Walter Etc. is that next mixtape. A perfect juxtaposition sadness and hope with a dash of nostalgia longing for something that you can’t quite put your finger on is a potent recipe that captures the emotion of autumn.
Gloom Cruise is Walter Etc.’s debut full-length release under the new moniker. Formed by Dustin Hayes (aka Walter) in ’09, the band began as Walter Mitty and His Makeshift Orchestra, releasing four LPs that flew under the radar but developed strong cult followings across the nation.
After touring to support their fourth album, Well Soon, the band began to struggle with members’ personal mental health issues and drug addiction. After playing a sold out show in Orange County in 2015 the band decided to take a hiatus and the members went their separate ways to new careers, grad school, and rehab. Walter was left with no band and no clue what to do next. Understandably, Walter fell into a period of depression. To cope, he wrote Gloom Cruise, a concept album that journeys through the darkness of a depressed psyche and meditates on sadness. Both lyrically and tonally the album revolves around his missing friend’s addiction and recovery, and Walter’s personal struggles with mental health.
In 2016, Walter reformed the band as Walter Etc. – a slight variation of his original group yet including some past members. They released the EP Always Leaving and a split release with Phoenix’s Diners earlier this year. Gloom Cruise will be released, just in time for fall, on Lame-O Records and Lauren Records.
While Gloom Cruise has a rather dark and depressing context, what it delivers is a moody indie pop record with an overall hopeful tone. It’s honest about sadness while still maintaining the playfulness and fun of indie pop music. Walter is a phenomenally clever songwriter who will have you singing along by the second track. Just check out the opening lines to the track “April 41st”:
I was born on April 41st
hydroplaning down the coast
in the back of a hearse
The birds didn’t sing
They were feeling insecure
So they never got to know me
Jealous of my crow’s feet
Catchy, clever lyrics like that, mixed with honest and hopeful songwriting and arranging run throughout the album. It’s a concept album without being pretentious, and it’s overall a good listen. Like most concept albums, I think Gloom Cruise is best experienced in one sitting. The tracks do stand by themselves well, and I’m certain you will have them stuck in head, but a full listen through provides you with more of narrative in the mood of the songs, especially because of the track order. The songs are arranged in such a way that the darker and more heavy songs are set up and moved away from, not just plopped into the listeners’ ears without context. I believe this is part of the strength of the album, and a larger part of its overall hopeful tone. Many of the tracks meditate on sadness, but you leave the album feeling uplifted and that there’s hope in the world – something we can all use more of right now. This is why I think it’s the perfect fall mixtape. It’s moody and sad, nostalgic for the season that just ended, but hopeful that the new season will bring positive changes. It’s a juxtaposition that is rather difficult to pull off, and Walter Etc. does it expertly.
Before this review, I was previously unaware of Walter Etc. and/or Walter Mitty and His Makeshift Orchestra, but Gloom Cruise has quickly made me a convert. I look forward to hearing more from them under their new moniker.w
-Kyle Smith
Score: 4.75/5
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