The Walkmen - In The New Year

(Muso's Guide, January 25, 2009)

Single review

Hailing from the ashes of the magnificent Johnathan Fire*Eater, The Walkmen are no strangers to the mainstream. After all, a star turn in The O.C. brought them to the limelight around the time of their second album Bows + Arrows.


But this single, off fifth record You & Me, shows a different sort of Walkmen. These guys are wearing their heart on their sleeves. The sleeves are familiar - they are woven of love and renewal - but the heart is all new.

Starting with a whisper and building, the chiming guitars exhibit a depth and breadth that would become any indie band, nay, any band. Hamilton Leithauser’s plaintive vocal cuts through with emotion and intrigue. “Oh, I’m still living at the old address,” the story goes, before a full-on backing of grandiose organ and warming percussion make the most of this poetically positive lament.

Belting out the chorus with astounding force, Leithauser’s emotive holler sounds like a Heathcliff calling for his Cathy, albeit in cheerier circumstances; “Out of the darkness - and into the fire, I’ll tell you I love you, and my heart’s in the strangest place”. The accomplished percussion and insistently dense guitars make for a positive journey, as “I know that it’s true - it’s going to be a good year”. With records like this around, it seems so.