Now on their 5th proper full length, with a variety of additional songs and a cover of Nilsson's Pussy Cats record in between, the longevity of the Walkmen in the era of digital music is truly phenomenal. Often grouped in with garage rock revivalists the Strokes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Walkmen have outlasted and outproduced their Brooklyn brethren by a large margin. Sure, the Walkmen might not have a record as influential as Is This It or a personality as big as Karen O’s, but their entire body of work far surpasses that of either of those bands.
On Lisbon the Walkmen continue to tinker, drawing influences from 60’s surf rock while revisiting the sound they produced on A Hundred Miles Off. Paul Maroon’s guitar leads the charge, and he expertly invokes a hazy, lazy, summery feel to most the record with a heavy dosage of clean-tone electric guitar, adding a lot of chorus and reverb effects, and often plucking his notes at a slight delay to the pace of the rest of the music.
Songs “Angela Surf City” and “Woe is Me” are surf rock stand-outs, and there is a great do-wop throwback in “Torch Song," but the theatrical “Blue As Your Blood” is the most impressive track here; the Latin-tinged instrumentation gallops alongside Hamilton Leithauser’s lyrics of a Spanish lover in perfect unison.
The Walkmen have put out three incredible records and the fourth (proper full length) is no different. You & Me is their best yet, a beautifully realized masterpiece revolving around love, loss and travel. The instrumentation builds upon the ideas they set in place with Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone, but the scale is much grander. Violas, horns, and organs are all used to compliment that eerie Walkmen blend of classic rock’n’roll and current indie rock.
The sound on its own can conjure vivid images and location, while Hamilton’s raspy voice narrates us though his personal contemplations while in those places. On "Donde Esta La Playa," the drums and guitar combine to transport us to a moonlit beach, where we’re told a story of bitter lost love. “Canadian Girl” invokes 1950’s and ‘60’s do-wop without the actual ‘do-wop’ backing vocals, but when Leithauser croons, “and only I still call you mine,” you can hear the throw-back to old soul in his voice.
Although not old himself by any stretch, Hamilton was approaching that 30 year milestone during the production of You & Me, and he seems more distraught than ever over the direction of his life. Even the more optimistic tracks contain melancholy undertones: in “Red Moon” Hamilton longs for his lover while on the road, but “In the New Year” he is uncertain there is a future for them at all. The latter has a cynical tone to it, with a lovely waltz time, triumphant guitars and vocals, and lyrics of enthusiasm for the new year, but when combined with the organ and Hamilton’s last few lines it hints at impending doom:
"So it’s all over It’s all over, anyhow You took our sweet time And finally I opened my eyes My friends and my family They are asking of me How long will you ramble How long will you still repeat The snow is still falling And I’m almost home I’ll see you…"
“On the Water” is the strongest track here. The instrumentation sounds like the driving force to a gritty crime-noir, setting us up for lyrics focusing on a poor soul who has lost someone very close to him/her, perhaps in some tragic accident. The video’s premise only enforces the image.
You & Me is an album that lives in those fleeting moments right before the sun comes up, when one goes through those late-night ( and often drunken) reflections on life; intimate moments that feel powerful but difficult to put in to words. Well, difficult unless you are Hamilton Leithauser. Life can get more confusing as age and mounting responsibilities add up, but the experiences can become more exciting and rewarding. The Walkmen perfectly capture those feelings on You & Me, and in doing so they created the best record released in 2008.
Here’s a short clip of "Canadian Girl" from a show the Walkmen played at the Bell House in Brooklyn, courtesy of a friend I was with that night. Check out her awesome bathroom blog, Courtesy Flush, where there's a post from the Bell House up now.
Release Date: September 14, 2010
