Walter Mitty and His Makeshift Orchestra - Yikes Almighty
New Album Out Today!
US West Coast Tour with The Taxpayers
UK tour with Pigeon Pit
Photo Credit: Lisa Johnson
LOS ANGELES – July 18, 2025 – 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.
LISTEN: https://lr-d.ffm.to/yikes-almighty
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.
Yikes Almighty Cover Art
Tracklist:
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Econoline
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Naked Self Portrait #2
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Omfg
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Homesick Hour
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My Scratched CD of a Brain
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The Way She Said It
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Fireworks on the Moon
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Triplet Daughters
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My Diving Board Game
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101 S
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.
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July 25 - San Diego, CA*
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July 26 - Los Angeles, CA*
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July 27 - Fresno, CA*
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July 29 - Sacramento, CA*
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July 30 - San Francisco, CA*
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July 31 - San Jose, CA*
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Sept 3 - Penryn, UK^
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Sept 5 - Plymouth, UK^
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Sept 6 - Bristol^
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Sept 7 - London^
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Sept 8 - Cambridge^
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Sept 10 - Cardiff^
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Sept 11 - Nottingham^
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Sept 12 - Carlisle^
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Sept 13 - Edinburgh^
* supporting The Taxpayers
^ supporting Pigeon Pit
Stream Yikes Almighty here.
About Walter Mitty and His Makeshift Orchestra
Known for their DIY ethos, unique production, and raw lyrics, Walter Mitty and His Makeshift Orchestra is a folk punk band that has branched off into an electric band, Walter Etc., and the eclectic Making New Enemies art collective.
Singer/songwriter Dustin Hayes lives in California and continues to record music under both band names. With Yikes Almighty, Hayes returns to the Walter Mitty moniker for the first time in over a decade. Initially shared as a single cassette buried in the desert and discovered within hours, the album will receive its full release on July 18 via Lauren Records.
Follow Walter Mitty and His Makeshift Orchestra on Instagram here.