OK, The Walkmen are one of the best bands going these days and they deserve a thread for their new album. For those who haven't heard it yet, you can download it legally for a measly $5 at Amie Street and all the funds go to a noble charity (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center). So even if you hate The Walkmen, download the new album now! Oh, and this deal lasts up to the physical release date of August 19th. As for the album, I think it's one of the year's best. What do you think?
I can't wait to hear it. I'm a really big Walkmen fan. I really like that they did the $5 presale. I would have been completely on board with it had it been something like a preorder of the physical release with $5 going to charity and downloadable mp3s. but I can't afford paying $20 for an album right now, even if it's 25% for charity and an album I know I'm going to enjoy.
How's the drumming? Matt Barrick is one of my favorite drummers, in line with Bryan from The National. I hope he is still being adventurous and dynamic.
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Originally posted by Shadrach: I can't wait to hear it. I'm a really big Walkmen fan. I really like that they did the $5 presale. I would have been completely on board with it had it been something like a preorder of the physical release with $5 going to charity and downloadable mp3s. but I can't afford paying $20 for an album right now, even if it's 25% for charity and an album I know I'm going to enjoy.
How's the drumming? Matt Barrick is one of my favorite drummers, in line with Bryan from The National. I hope he is still being adventurous and dynamic.
If you order the vinyl from Insound, you get a download link on the release date. In any case, the drumming is great. It's not the kind of stuff they were doing with "The Rat" or "Little House of Savages," but I would actually say the percussion is more interesting this time around.
As someone who really isn't too big a fan of the Walkmen, this album really took me by surprise. They always struck me as one of those bands with completely stellar singles, but with albums that drop off at certain points and pick back up at other.
What i'm getting at is this seems to be their most cohesively and consistently good album. Nothing to me stands head and shoulders above the rest, and it's just consistently great. I thought they were kind of on their way out as a band, but i'm happy they pulled through with a great album.
They still need to move around on stage more, though. BORING live.
Posts: 459 | Location: California | Registered: 06 March 2008
Getting older is strange. It's funny how different music and styles start to open themselves up to you. This new Walkmen disk doesn't rock, and it isn't turbulent or challenging, but I can sit and listen to it start to finish and find something in every single song that makes me want to listen to it all the way through.
I'm sorry you don't like it ... cheesypOOf. Maybe you should just take a few of the key tracks and listen to them separately from the album. Namely: "On The Water" and "Four Provinces"
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I wasn't impressed on my first listen; I found it a bit lifeless, very cold and lacking in movement. I'm giving it more time, though. Like Wolf Parade, even though I didn't like it, it has been praised by people whose taste I respect. That alone deserves another chance.
Plus, I've heard some loose comparisons to The National's [u]Boxer[/u], which is another dark, subtle, "grower" type of album, and one of my favorites.
I like this album a lot. I've been rooting for The Walkmen to release a great album ever since I first listened to Bows and Arrows, which was a good album that ultimately had some lackluster moments. I wasn't very thrilled with A Hundred Miles Off, but thankfully they've finally delivered the album I thought they could that first time I heard "The Rat". I'm glad to see them make it happen this time around. "In The New Year" is one of the year's best tracks.
I had a stick of CareFree gum, but it didn't work. I felt pretty good while I was blowing that bubble, but as soon as the gum lost its flavor I was back to pondering my mortality.
Posts: 569 | Location: Chicago, IL | Registered: 14 December 2007
I really dig this album too. "In the New Year" is a fantastic track, as is the incredible closer, "If Only It Were True".
ferlessweaver's comparison to the National's Boxer is pretty appropriate. This album doesn't hit you over the head the first time around, but starts to stick with you over repeated listens.
----- We were wasps with new wings, now we're bugs in the jar.
Posts: 5469 | Location: Michigan | Registered: 19 June 2005
I'll second (third) what less and Eric have said. I also really like the album and I would agree that it reveals subtle beauty with every repeated listen. This is the kind of album that rewards with every listen and I recommend listening to it with headphones, that helps a lot.
I also like that they were able to pull this off without any true "rocker" on the album. They made a concept album about the themes of love, despair and emotions and they did it masterfully.
----- If you don't love me, I'm sorry.
Posts: 6003 | Location: Texas | Registered: 27 December 2005
This album is quite the grower. "Four Provinces", "The Blue Route" and "On the Water" are the standouts to me at the moment. Not sure if it will find its way in my top 20, but it's a return to form for them.
Anybody remember "Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone"? I don't see it being mentioned too much but it was one of my favorite albums from '02. The instrumentation on that album was really something special.
Originally posted by EricG75: I can already see that this has one of the hallmarks of a good album -- everyone disagrees on what the best songs are.
That is definitely true of Boxer too if you look at the year-end voting for the songs list last year. Interesting that this album is getting compared to that one. I had thought about the similarity after the first few listens, given the fact that none of the tracks exceed mid-tempo, along with its "grower" quality. So my suggestion is for anyone who loves Boxer(that's most people around here) to give this a listen as well. I'll add "New Country" and "I Lost You" to the list of favorite tracks. I really think this is as close to a "great" album as I've heard this year. Glad to see it's getting some love.
Originally posted by EricG75: I can already see that this has one of the hallmarks of a good album -- everyone disagrees on what the best songs are.
That is definitely true of Boxer too if you look at the year-end voting for the songs list last year. Interesting that this album is getting compared to that one. I had thought about the similarity after the first few listens, given the fact that none of the tracks exceed mid-tempo, along with its "grower" quality. So my suggestion is for anyone who loves Boxer(that's most people around here) to give this a listen as well. I'll add "New Country" and "I Lost You" to the list of favorite tracks. I really think this is as close to a "great" album as I've heard this year. Glad to see it's getting some love.
Well said. I would also add the cover art. I don't know why but somehow it's similar to the one on 'Boxer'.
I'm kind of luke-warm on this one. I have probably listened to it a half-dozen times, and it hasn't grabbed me quite yet.
I think my problem is that I find the vocals whiny. I'm not giving up on it, and it will likely end up on my year-end list, but at this point I don't see it being a top-20 pick.
________________ Fighting for peace, that's like screaming for quiet.
"Mission Accomplished (Because You Gotta Have Faith)" - Todd Snider Peace Queer
Posts: 536 | Location: Los Angeles | Registered: 18 December 2006
Yeah, I think the Boxer comparison isn't really spot on. The songs aren't as diverse as on Boxer. And there really are a few stand out tracks that everyone is naming. When Boxer came out, I remember listing off every single song on the album as being mentioned as someone's favorite at some point in the discussion. Every song was individual.
These are all great songs, but they aren't as unique among themselves.
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