Walter Mitty and His Makeshift Orchestra - Yikes Almighty

Folk‑punk cult heroes Walter Mitty and His Makeshift Orchestra are back from a decade‑long hibernation with Yikes  Almighty, a 10‑track existential daydream that began life as a single cassette buried in a California desert cave. Out today via Lauren Records and streaming everywhere, the album pairs songwriter Dustin Hayes’s wandering‑poet storytelling with toy‑instrument arrangements that feel equal parts campfire lullaby and cosmic reckoning.

Of all the ways for a band to end ten years of silence, Walter Mitty chose a real‑world treasure hunt: one hand‑dubbed cassette hidden in a cave, revealed only through a cryptic “find‑it‑and‑we’ll‑release‑it” video map. Within hours, a fan uncovered the tape, triggering today’s full release of Yikes Almighty.

Written while Hayes spent a year nomadically houseless and philosophically adrift, the record captures homesickness, humor, and hope in equal measure. Songs unspool like folktales set to cowboy chords, toy pianos, and the odd thrift‑store noisemaker.

Although the project hasn’t released music under the Walter Mitty name since 2014, Hayes has remained prolific under the electric‑leaning alias Walter Etc.“My life is already such a mess, I decided I’d keep adding to the chaos,” he jokes. It’s that cut‑your‑own‑ear‑off sincerity that fuels the ever‑expanding lore of the Walter‑verse.

Walter Mitty and His Makeshift Orchestra will be supporting The Taxpayers this month on the US West Coast leg of their Circle Breaker Tour. They will also be supporting Pigeon Pit in the UK in September. See full dates HERE and contact us with any requests!