Barry Walker Jr

In conversation with Harper Mahood, Barry Walker Jr. talks about “Paleo Sol,” his Thrill Jockey debut — a record born from new age lullabies, ancient oxidised soils, and dark forces banging on the door. “I want people to look past the horizon and try to break the material veil that we’re all living in.”

Pedal steel player Barry Walker Jr. teams with drummer Rob Smith and bassist Jason Willmon for Paleo Sol, a luminous Thrill Jockey release built on space and texture. Walker’s steel guides rather than dominates, creating conversational interplay across tracks like the buoyant Leaving Lower Big Basin and the hypnotic twelve-minute Sentient Lithosphere. Confident, inviting, and impeccably produced, this is collaborative instrumental music at its finest.

Acclaimed pedal steel guitarist Barry Walker Jr. has announced his debut album for Thrill Jockey, Paleo Sol. He unearths new dimensions, fusing cosmic country and ambient minimalism with the profound patience of geology and the intimacy of new fatherhood. Listen to three tracks from the album today.