First Listen:

Walter Etc. / Diners

“Split”

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words by tom johnson

Swanning in to the day in a haze of colourful noise, the new split EP from Walter Etc. and Diners brings two of the West Coast’s brightest new guitar bands together and still manages to produce something greater than the sum of its parts. Which is to say that this six-track collection is a charming gem of a record, arriving with a summery glow that should see it still firmly situated in your consciousness for the next few months, at least.

Released this Friday via the ever-rewarding Lauren Records, the split is led by Walter Etc’s three efforts, all of which add further weight to their new LP which is pencilled in for later this Summer and was produced by Jeff Rosenstock. A breezy and wholesome introduction, the stand-out moment on their side is the chugging two-minutes of “No One Hits Me Up Anymore” which quietly broods amid the playful guitars and skittering percussion.

Diners’ side of the project is slightly more restrained, Tyler Broderick exuding that signature sense of charm across every second of his own three efforts. “Sunrise” is a melancholic gem (“I always see the sunset / I want to see the sunrise”), “Blankly At The Screen” flips between deft quietude and more off-kilter moments of escape, while closing track “You’ve Got It” rounds the whole thing off sweetly and perfectly; a seventy-five second reworking of an older album track and, more importantly, a sweet little ditty that practically begs for repeated plays.

The full thing is released this coming Friday (pre-order here ) ahead of a release show at The Echo in LA on June 24th (details here) but we’re very pleased to present a full stream of all six songs for you today. Check it out below.

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lauren-records.com

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