Kevin Bronson on September 11th, 2020

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If you’re going to dive back into music after being on the sidelines for a while, you might as well make as big a splash as possible.

Grand Master is the solo project of L.A.-based Nebraska native Derek M. Walker, the onetime guitarist for Mere Mortals who in recent years turned to other creative endeavors.

The multi-instrumentalist’s debut album “I Am Living,” coming out Sept. 25, began as a batch of home recordings, which he then fleshed out at Bedrock LA with an assist from Axel Steuerwald (the former Mere Mortals frontman who now helms United Ghosts) and then took to Grammy-winning producer-engineer Mark Rains. Walker plays everything on the album except drums, which Joey Ponchetti recorded at Rains’ studio.

The title track arrives with a roar, starting with an open-road guitar line with the vibe of the Wedding Present’s “Interstate 5” and evolving into a gritty, neo-psychedelic beast reminiscent of one of Rains’ production charges, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. It’s simple, loud and visceral … like living can be, sometimes.

||| Stream: “I Am Living”