Ahead of the release of his new album, Ghosting, on 28 August, Tasmanian singer-songwriter Van Walker released one outstanding single, ‘Spirit World’, then three singles at once: ‘Long Night’s Journey to Day’, ‘When You Were Mine’ and ‘Drifting Too Far From Shore’. The latter now has a video – which is having its premiere on this site today (below).
The song is about being literally and metaphysically unmoored, its lilting, almost hypnotic beat giving the listener a false sense of security when we really know that the protagonist is all at sea. Except it’s his very awareness that he’s out there which offers the promise of salvation: he just needs to make his way back to shore.
After releasing six albums between 2008 and 2010, these songs are the first released under Walker’s name in ten years. He’s been involved in plenty of other music in the meantime, including with bands The Livingstone Daisies and Goatpiss Gasoline. The four tracks already released from Ghosting promise an album that is lyrically rich and musically stirring. Walker is a songwriter of tremendous power as well as subtlety – ‘Drifting Too Far from Shore’ is proof of that.