A prominent upright bass line opens the sprawling 'Summer Dress,' which eventually swells in volume to a blissful instrumental freakout. Like a modern take on Morrison's 'Astral Weeks,' the opening title track starts off with a pastoral acoustic riff before spiraling into a vibrant, '60s-inspired folk song. The result is expansive, inviting and layered. Where the breezy, often-downbeat folk offerings on his 2014 album 'All Kinds Of You' showcased his prowess with the acoustic guitar, 'Primrose Green' is a more collaborative effort thanks to contributions from local jazz and experimental talent including guitarist Brian Sulpizio, pianist Ben Boye, drummer Frank Rosaly, and many more. These aren't the usual touchstones for an artist in his mid-20s (aren't younger folkies just supposed to name-drop Bob Dylan and move on?) Walker's sophisticated taste and astounding execution suggest a musician with experience and wisdom beyond his years.

On his stellar new album 'Primrose Green,' the songs constantly shift, buoyed by Walker's crate-digging love for genre-bending acts like Tim Buckley, Van Morrison, Fairport Convention and John Fahey, not to mention a few relatively obscure others. Rather than specializing in earnest, preciously strummed songs with copious amounts of banjo, the 25-year-old, Rockford-born singer-songwriter plays music that unfolds like freewheeling jazz-with the energy and abandon of punk rock. Fortunately, that's not the case with Ryley Walker.

These days, the term 'young folk artist' typically implies mountain-man affectations and cute ukuleles.

Ryley walker primrose green review