Author: Anna Oseran
As a longtime fan of the New York City based indie band The Walkmen, I have always been convinced that none of their subsequent albums surpassed their 2002 debut release, Everyone Who Pretended to Like me is Gone. I listened to that CD on repeat for months at a time, never failing to get goosebumps when the song “We’ve Been Had” came over my car stereo. While their other albums were critically well received, they just didn’t have the same emotional punch.
This past summer their newest album, You and Me, was released, initially online and later in CD format. With a healthy dose of skepticism and a tinge of hope, I bought it and kept it lying around for a few days before listening. When I finally did, I was thrilled.
When lead singer Hamilton Leithauser opened the album belting out “well, it’s back to the battle today,” I knew that the boys were not going to disappoint me this time.
Despite a couple iffy cuts, You and Me finds The Walkmen returning to the familiar sounds of their earliest work. In the opening cut, “Donde Esta La Playa?”, subdued guitar chords mix with Leithauser’s seductive vocals to give just the right amount of the old Walkmen sound along with a little something new, making listeners eager to hear the rest.
While the lyrics are simple and clean, covering topics we’ve heard in previous songs and albums, most of the tracks are enriched by instrumentation that creates a rich background texture and atmosphere.
Straightforward and even pedestrian lyrics such as, “I know that it’s true/It’s gonna be a good year” become elevated, and seem unaccountably insightful with heavy drums and organs behind them. Leithauser goes on to sing, “Out of the darkness/And into the fire/I tell you I love you/And my heart’s in the strangest place.”
While the mavens at Pitchfork may disagree (God forbid), I find these lyrics comforting, if not beautifully simple and clean. On the track “Postcards From Tiny Islands,” the lyric “I’ll be drunk before too long/And I’ll keep up this sappy talk,” while far from cheerful, is coupled with a fast-paced Latin beat to create a joyful and energizing mood.
Despite the painstakingly crafted songwriting, two years in the making, You and Me sounds overwhelmingly live and perhaps even slightly “lo-fi.” Songs like “On the Water” combine heavy bass lines with cymbal crashes along with what sounds like booze-induced recollections, creating an appropriately messy sound.
One thing this album certainly lacks is anguish. Past songs like “The Rat” and “Wake Up” define the Walkmen’s sound of sad and bitter desperation. The songs on this album focus more on storytelling and the solidarity between old friends. The boys manage to move on from their quintessentially resentful tone, while still remaining true to their original sound.
Though there may be no standout like “We’ve Been Had” this time around, and no real goosebump moments, The Walkmen manage to maintain their depth and poetic energy.
Not too bad for a bunch of prep school boys.
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