Chicago’s The Walters come at life with a pretty laid-back sense of humor. Their bio claims that in addition to being a five-piece with “Beach Boys harmonies,” they’re also a minor league baseball team with impressive workout regimes. And while a lot of that is likely just playful copy, the bit about their smooth vocals is anything but.

The band released their debut EP, Songs for Dads, back in November, and it caught the ear of The Orwells’ Mario Cuomo. In a piece for NME, Cuomo said the EP “has some of the most solid songwriting I’ve heard in years, matched with harmonies that would make The Beach Boys Nervous.” If there are two people making the Beach Boys comparison, then there’s got to be something to it.



Now, the undeniable hunks of The Walters put those pipes on display once more with their new single “Hunk Beach”. The breezy three-minute number rides with all the easygoing vibes the band projects almost naturally. Beachy guitars rumble along over a steady and understated drum beat while Luke Olson takes lead vocals to sing about the girl across the room. Though he handles things mostly alone for the track, the backgrounds on the chorus make those previously made parallels apparent as Olson sings slowly, “I’m in the back room with this girl/ She’s not like you/ If you stick around with me I’ll show you/ that everything’s fine/ We’ll be okay.” Take a listen:

“Hunk Beach” is available now from Canvasback.