Independent artist Walker's debut album shows that you can rock the house and still be eclectic and diverse. "Dysfunctional Illaureate" showcases hard, emotive music balanced with a broad range of instrumentation and lush production. Trumpet lines and piano melodies show up on occasion along with infrequent sampling. (When was the last time you heard Marilyn Monroe thrown into the mix?)

Songs like "Better Than You", "Wave", "Goodbye Jenny", and "Family Tree" are born from Rock Basics 101: Guitar, bass, drums, and vocals are delivered with a sneer and cranked up loud. Then they take on unique characteristics in the form of unexpected meter-change or odd sound-to-style juxtaposition. But in contrast, songs like "Girl Behind Glass", "Jaded", "Hollow Seed", and "Prayed In My Sleep" emulate a more introspective and deeper space. The lush arrangements of these cuts show more of Walker's artistic approach to songwriting as well as his engineering prowess.

The majority of Walker's songs are melodically strong and well arranged. However, it's been said that there's a thin line that separates brilliance from the absurd, and there are moments on Dysfunctional Illaureate that cross this proverbial line and end up landing in a category more closely resembling the twisted and perverse. Case in point: "Defense For A Murder." This song hammers out early Sabbath influenced riffs and gut-heaving lyric delivery about justifiable homicide, then suddenly jumps into "The Wizard Of Oz" theme for the bridge. Oddly enough, the contrast works well. The same can be said for the contrast of the songs found on the CD overall. On Dysfunctional Illaureate, the mix of hard angst with sorrowful resignation seems to pull off a Yin/Yang effect, maintaining a relatively harmonious balance. (RELATIVELY, mind you.)

All music on this album was written, performed by, and produced by Walker. Dysfunctional Illaureate is a solid listen from beginning to end, 13 tracks in all. Each song has a strong and unique signature of it's own making this CD play like a "best of..." compilation.