Butch Walker released today a new song “Ludlow Expectations” off his upcoming eighth studio album “Stay Gold” due out on August 26 via Dangerbird Records. As a writer of dozens of songs with hooks that stick in your head, Walker has penned choruses you want to sing (or shout) along to from acts including Frank Turner, Brian Fallon, Taylor Swift, and many more. He is a teller of authentic stories of exploits and predicaments and romance that are filled with optimism; builder of albums with no boundaries – rock, pop, Americana, singer-songwriter…or, as he says, “I think it’s all just rock & roll.” “If there was a song to soundtrack a passionate, pawing embrace of a moment stolen in a neon-bathed gutter of the Lower East Side, ‘Ludlow Expectations’ is it, euphoric chorus and driving heartbeat and Springsteen-channeling swagger and all,” stated Esquire who premiered the song yesterday. Walker’s last album, 2015’s Ryan Adams’ produced Afraid Of Ghosts, was a cathartic record that dealt with a devastating personal experience, the passing of his father. This one’s a celebration. The stories on Stay Gold are very well fleshed out, something Butch credits to “growing up on some of those dudes – Elton John and the (Bernie) Taupin lyrics, Springsteen and Joel.” It kicks off with the title song, a straight-ahead rocker, loaded with swagger and lyrics that call out native GA locales featuring a nod to the S.E. Hinton novel (and later, a Coppola film), The Outsiders. The lead single “East Coast Girl” and “Mexican Coke” are inspired by Walker’s move to Los Angeles, the former effectively combining an anthemic chorus with spoken verses, recorded conversationally on an iPhone. The writerly eye for detail is apparent in one of Stay Gold’s standout tracks, “Wilder In The Heart”, describing an airport meeting with a girlfriend. Overall, Stay Gold is clearly Walker’s most articulate to date. When asked if the stories are real or imagined, he replies, “All the songs are half true.” The album is now available for pre-order with “East Coast Girl”, “Stay Gold”, and “Descending” as instant grat downloads. In addition, Walker will set out on a North American tour with openers The Wind and The Wave and Suzanne Santo kicking off on August 17th at Orlando’s The Social. All tickets are on-sale now. Track List: 01) Stay Gold 02) East Coast Girl 03) Wilder In The Heart 04) Ludlow Expectations 05) Descending 06) Irish Exit 07) Mexican Coke 08) Can We Just Not Talk About Last Night 09) Spark Lost 10) Record Store