Daniel Walker is establishing himself as a storyteller. Given the literary nature of his band’s name, Owen Meany’s Batting Stance, an homage to one of John Irving’s great novels, it’s unsurprising. Walker’s most recent album, Feather Weights, is presented as a series of vignettes; each song a self-contained short story. The latest video, “Krakow”, gives a melancholy glimpse into the tail end of a European tour, briefly capturing a moment of isolation. It’s the hook with which Walker grabs us; it is subtle but poignant and leaves a great number of questions unanswered. If it were the introduction to a new Netflix special, we’d be binging it already.
Directed by Jesse Patrick Hiltz, the video captures loneliness and heartache in a wilderness further removed from the real world by time. It seems to suggest that, in such isolation, we’re left to consume, and be consumed by, whatever past we’ve carried with us.
“‘Krakow’ was written during the last days of a European tour, largely in a hostel in Krakow. It was Canadian Thanksgiving but, as the lone Canadian in the hostel, was spent navigating language barriers rather than family chatter over the dinner table,” explains Walker with an almost verbatim retelling already offered in the song. “The sentimentalist in me was dwelling on being away from family.”
The sole (living) subject of the video, Walker presents the figure of a humble and haunted adventurer who is obviously carrying a burden with him – just not the kind of burden that possesses any physical weight.
“Aside from the holiday, during the course of the tour, I also missed out on major life events friends and family celebrated. Touring overseas was a huge accomplishment and a sense of validation for me, however, it also kept me away from those closest to me,” explains Walker. “The crux of the song is how pursuing what you love can take you from who you love.”
The concept of being literally eaten away, trading away moments of our lives for the sake of a continued existence might be more along the lines of Stephen King than John Irving, but it does off some thrilling prospects. If that’s the twist Walker pulls out of a Thanksgiving in a hostel, it seems we’re due for a novel.
Owen Meany’s Batting Stance’s album Feather Weights was released October 2, 2020 via LHM.