Maggie Walters

Walters is primed to be the next big singer-songwriter to bust out of Austin.
---Joe Nick Patoski - Texas Monthly

The Austin-American Statesman:
New Austinite Maggie Walters possesses that great combination of searching for who she is as a person, but knowing exactly what she wants as an artist. The result is a stunning debut album that resists showoff urges — vocals blend into the soundscape and wordplay stops short of cuteness — while ultimately making the listener gasp "wow!"
The simmer of unobtrusiveness extends to a cast of top-flight local musicians, among them Chris Searles, Bukka Allen, Scrappy Jud Newcomb and Brian Standefer, more keen on texturizing Walters' often biting sentiments than flexing virtuosity.
On first listen, the list of comparable artists includes Sheryl Crow, Liz Phair and a host of wispy warblers named Kacy, Macy and Lacy. But Walters establishes her turf as somewhere out in left field with the Stax groove of "The Other Spin," the eerie rhythmic ache of "Fingerprints" and the punch drummer Searles gives to the singer-songwriter gut of "Sundays." This album, which climaxes with the celebration of uncertainty on "Shades of Gray," overflows with an attitude that self-expression is only the car; it ain't the open road. This 24-year-old from Kansas roars down the interstate with the top down on a journey just begun.?
---Michael Corcoran
- Austin-American Statesman, Michael Corocoran

Material: Maggie Walters presents blues-influenced Americana and alt-country. She has a vocal style reminiscent of Linda Ronstadt and Natalie Merchant, with the phrasing of Patti Griffin. Although Walters’ lyrics are rather simplistic, her musical base is strong and complex. Her most commercial songs are “Be Careful Love” and “Fingerprints.”

Musicianship: Walters is outstanding on both electric and acoustic guitar, while her rich vocals permeate her songs with life. Everhart, taking a break from his duties with Black Summer Crush, is noteworthy on both stand-up and electric bass. Allen, a regular drummer for both Keaton Simons and Tyler Hilton, lays down an equally strong percussion groove. Everhart and Allen create a smooth foundation for Walters.

Performance: Her music spoke volumes, especially the strong and upbeat “Be Careful Love,” which brought together the best combination of music and vocals. Walters displayed her versatility in segueing from electric to acoustic guitars, using the time to introduce her band. She also provided excellent ocean sounds for the intro of “Captain.” Her breathy vocals and low register were especially effective on her closing song, “Fingerprints.”
- Mix Magazine

"Kelly Willis as an indie-diva? Maggie Walters' bedroom voice sounded equally pure and pleasing on her self-titled local debut, written entirely- good effect-by the 24-year old scene Slip her on for Size.."
-Rauol Hernandez, Music Editor, The Austin Chronicle

- The Austin Chronicle

"Breathless yet bold.."

It appears Sheryl Crow isn't just going to ride off with Austin's most famous cyclist, she's going to bury her nails into our musicians, too. With time to sink in, though, Walters' finely honed debut reveals itself a Crow of a different color. Picking up where Patty Griffin and Sarah Sharp leave off, the 24-year-old transplanted Midwesterner finesses subtle folk-pop between hushed twang ("Be Careful Love") and driving rhythms ("Ann Marie Explained It All"). The songs are about fickle relationships, but this well-worn territory plays fresh thanks to Walters' way with words. Familiar kiss-offs like "Fingerprints" get a boost from careful prose like "Now I wait for the rain to come wash the fingerprints that you left on my face, in my heart, in my veins." Floating on her voice, the words sing like Dolly Parton or Loretta Lynn, breathless yet bold. Even bluesy throwaways like "The Other Spin" can't diminish the album's charisma. Charm like this won't last, however, without some more pain. - The Austin Chronicle

Sometimes a debut album sings from the first notes: "Listen up! A star just might be born here." And Austin newcomer Maggie Walters not only knows that tune but is singing and writing it for herself. Hailing from Kansas via Chicago, she arrived in Texas to prover how genuine talent seeks its own level. With some of the Capital City's top musicians, Walters cut this exquisitely arranged set on which the impact of just a few players feels bigger than the sum of its parts. Mining a vein somewhere between Kate Bush and fellow Austin thrush Patty Griffin-but with a supple voice all her own-she seduces the listener with alluring songs like the mesmerizing opener "Fingerprints" and the echoing folk-rock tango "Ann Marie Explained it All." They all play like friendly whispers in the ear and suggest that this talent's level could well be up where the stars shine.
-Rob Patterson - Texas Music Magazine

107.1 KGSR Radio Austin, TX

In Austin, a town full of musicians toiling doggedly away at their craft, often for years without artistic or commercial success, Maggie Walters just arrives and in very short order, gathers up our best musicians, and makes a great record. Yes, it's a great first album, but it's also one that is comparable to the best to come out of Austin this year.
The first song, "Fingerprints," is different from the nine that follow. It's a big rock song, filmed in black and white, about a woman trying to eliminate the evidence of a doomed relationship with a pack of matches. As a radio d.j., I'm always trying to match a great new song with a great familiar song. "Fingerprints" pairs well with U2's "Mysterious Ways."

The next song is completely different. It's much lighter and playful, but if the character in "Be Careful Love" is the same woman as in "Fingerprints," she is giving some very confident advice to her new suitor: "Don't go making all your plans, cause I'll just fuck ‘em up," sung so delicately that you are completely disarmed, if not charmed, by the use of the f-word. Then she comes in with the knockout punch: "I probably won't remember you, but baby you'll remember me." Ouch. How would you like to be on the receiving end of that lyric"

With "Spin," Maggie moves onto current events with a brilliant deconstruction of the state of broadcast news, set to a striptease beat. It's sly, it's sexy and it's deadly accurate.

Later in the album, "The Other Spin," takes a hint of the original for a top-down ride through Memphis, with funkified support from "Scrappy" Jud Newcomb and Bukka Allen.

Maggie's album maintains its strength all the way through. Stand-outs for me include "Sundays," which in its elegant simplicity is reminiscent of Robert Earl Keen's bridgeless masterpiece, "Not a Drop of Rain."

"Flash" is fun and revealing, as the author rejects the soulless "bling bling" of some rich dude and challenges him to "show me what's inside."

The quality of the songwriting on this album is remarkable, both in its lyrics and its music. I find myself listening to new albums by artists I already hold in high regard, not just from Austin, but from everywhere, and thinking, "Well, this record is good, but it's not as good as Maggie's."

Mysteries remain, however. Will she stay with us in Austin? Or will she take a match to us and move on?
- Kevin Connor