William Tyler

As a backing guitarist in both Lambchop's and Silver Jews' touring ensembles, William Tyler added atmosphere. His new record Impossible Truth is a follow-up to 2010's solo debut, Behold the Spirit, and it's a rich and meditative compilation of eight tracks that pulls from atmospheric rock and traditional fingerpicked guitar—a little Richard Thompson, a little Reggie Young, with a splash of Robby Krieger's trippy Doors work. It sounds like Midwestern drives and Western sunsets (sunrises, too). Tyler says the recordings were inspired by two books about Los Angeles: Barney Hoskyns’ Hotel California and Mike Davis’ Ecology of Fear. Melodic and lush, Impossible Truth conjures sun-spattered nostalgia as much as ominous apocalypticism. Tyler isn't afraid to bring in backing instruments when necessary, and his tunes are warm, lovely and accessible.