Joshua Ray Walker‘s new album What Is It Even? arrives on August 4th with the US country star delivering two of the tracks from the set – Cuz I Love You and Linger. The titles may seem familiar, as Joshua looks set to provide his own versions of a number of contemporary female-sung anthems for the collection, with the star putting his own country spin on the numbers.
Linger was originally a top twenty UK hit for The Cranberries arriving in 1993, yet Joshua’s take features Adam “Ditch” Kurtz on pedal steel and Tenacious D’s Kyle Gass providing a recorder solo which mirrors the original’s slide guitar solo. There are also the sublime, distinctive vocals of the Joshua taking the track to another level of originality.
Josha shared: “After belting it out with the band on a late night drive after a show, we decided ‘Linger’ had to make the album. Once in studio, our bassist Billy Bones suggested we ask our new friend Kyle Gass to add a recorder solo. It was the perfect addition, and fit squarely within our ethos of ‘What Is It Even’ while making the record.”
On the upcoming LP, the country star shares: “I just wanted to make something that was fun. I realized how influential female pop records and artists have been on me as a person, even more than in a creative sense.”
See the full eleven song tracklist below. You can order the album here.
- Cuz I Love You (Lizzo)
- Linger feat Kyle Gass of Tenacious D (The Cranberries)
- I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Whitney Houston)
- Believe (Cher)
- Cheap Thrills (Sia)
- Blue (LeAnn Rimes)
- Goodbye Horses (Q Lazarus)
- Nothing Compares 2 U (Sinead O’Connor)
- Joshua (Dolly Parton)
- Halo (Beyonce)
- Samson (Regina Spektor)
You can see the country star’s upcoming European tour dates below:
August 11 – Kristiansand, NO – Vaktbua
August 13 – Oslo, NO – Cosmopolite Scene
August 14 – Trondheim, NO – Trykkeriet
August 15 – Bergen, NO – Ole Bull
August 17 – Stavanger, NO – Tou Scene
August 18 – Bodø, Norway – Parkenfestivalen
August 20 – Stockholm, SWE – Rootsy Live Stockholm
August 22 – Gothenburg, SWE – Pustervik
August 23 – Malmö, SWE – Folk å Rock
August 24-26 – Copenhagen, DK – Tønder
August 27 – Lutterworth, UK – The Long Road
August 28 – Hamburg, DE – Nachtwache
August 30 – Nijmegen, NL – Merleyn
August 31 – Amsterdam, NL – Het Zonnehuis
September 2 – London, UK – Oslo Hackney
September 3 – Newcastle, UK – The Cluny 2
September 4 – Glasgow, UK – The Hug and Pint
September 5 – Manchester, UK – The Deaf Institute
September 6 – Brighton, UK – The Prince Albert
September 8 – Cologne, DE – Blue Shell
September 9 – Enschede, NL – Tuckerville
September 10 – Berlin, DE – PRIVATCLUB
