Attempting a bold departure the English folk style, Ryley Walker and his pickup band’s pseudo-jazz flourishes and prog-jam pretentions drift in search of a destination.

“It’s a weird record. I don’t even know if I like it.” That’s Ryley Walker speaking of Deafman Glance, his fourth record and his furthest departure yet from the neo-English folk revival sound with which he has been most associated. For listeners who have followed Walker from his debut record on hyper-retro label Tompkins Square, Deafman Glance will register as a seismic stylistic shift, and one that may shake off some among those longtime listeners who expect him to stay a course charted by his early impressions. [ . . . ]

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