According to Ryley Walker, his resume left him little choice but to become a musician.
“I never was a good student, and I’m not much of an athlete,” said the 25-year-old Little Village resident, who is readying for the late March release of his excellent new full-length, “Primrose Green”–as well as preparing for a high-profile appearance at this summer’s Pitchfork Music Festival, where he’ll share a bill with fellow Chicagoans Wilco and Chance the Rapper, among others. “I’m not really good at anything else. Playing guitar is the only thing I ever really wanted to do.”
He’s quite skilled at it, too, and “Primrose” brims with dense thickets of hypnotic acoustic guitar that emanate warmth even in those moments when he’s singing of frustration, anxiety or a fear of solitude — a trait, Walker agreed, would all but ensure his demise in a zombie apocalypse.
Congrats on landing the slot at Pitchfork this summer. Is there anyone in particular you’re looking forward to seeing?
Some of my friends are playing, like Steve Gunn and Jessica Pratt. I haven’t listened to Wilco in years, but that’s your classic Chicago band. I know a couple of those dudes loosely, so that’ll be fun.
Does a song like “Summer Dress” feel particularly aspirational dealing with these frigid temperatures?
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Yeah, the context is definitely a bit lost when you’re playing it in these sub-zero temperatures.
How do you feel about your familial name being co-opted by “The Walking Dead,” with the zombies on the show commonly referred to as “walkers”?
I’ve never seen it, but I don’t mind one bit. Sometimes when I walk around the city at this time of year I feel like the walking dead, so it kind of makes sense.
Do you feel like you’re well equipped to survive in the zombie apocalypse?
I would die immediately.
Considering the opening line of “All Kinds of You” — “I can’t do another midnight alone” — I imagine the solitude alone would get to you. Do you enjoy being on your own? Or do you prefer having people around?
I like having people around; I don’t like being alone all the time. I’m a pretty loud person, so I like getting out. I’m not one of those get-a-cabin-and-be-all-quiet folk musicians. I mostly write when I’m in the thick of everything and there’s a lot of noise around. For some reason it works for me.
Do you think anyone will buy the record hoping “The High Road” is a Broken Bells cover?
Is that the name of a Broken Bells song? I can’t imagine anyone who likes that band would like me [laughs].
Are you someone who tends to take the high road when placed in a difficult situation?
No, not at all. I think that’s a desperation song, like, “I wish I could take the high road.” I’m not an angry person, but I feel like there’s a lot of regret in my life that comes out on this record. A lot of woulda, coulda, shouldas.
I’m actually surprised the title “Primrose Green” wasn’t already spoken for by the Kinks.
Yeah, like “Village Green Preservation Society”? It certainly has the feel of the Kinks. I thought it was a nice little poetic title, and it definitely harkens back to those classic records I enjoy.
How shocked will you be if you read a review of the album that doesn’t use the word pastoral?
I’ll be pretty shocked. I guess that’s a go-to word to describe this kind of [music]. When you say pastoral, I think an outdoorsy kind of record, and I’m definitely a city person. I grew up around here my whole life [Ed. note: The musician was born in Rockford to a factory worker father and a grocer mother and moved to Chicago at the age of 17)], and I think a lot of the anxieties of being in the city are on the record, if you ask me.
Growing up around the city, have you actually attended Pitchfork as a fan in past years?
Yeah, but it’s been awhile, and I don’t think I’ve been since 2010 or 2011. I went to one of the first ones, if not the first, because I remember we drove down from Rockford to see Silver Jews. Also, I used to live in Pilsen, so I hopped the fence a couple times. And now this year I’m a performer. It feels good to be moving on up.
Andy Downing is a RedEye special contributor. @andydowning33
Ryley Walker, 8 p.m. Monday, March 9 at Schubas. $13.