The Walkmen: Nor'easter Festival 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010 at 10:00AM ;)
;)
The Walkmen's recently-released fifth album, Lisbon, is high on my list of favorite albums of the year. It's a nuanced record that reveals more with each listen, yet seems like it would be perfect listening for almost any situation. The Walkmen have taken a strange path to becoming one of my favorite bands - there wasn't that single song or album that bowled me over or defined a time in my life. I remember being vaguely aware of them back in 2003, shortly after their debut Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone made them one of the NYC buzz bands (remember the Yes New York comp?). I saw them live for the first time circa 2004 or so in a tiny room at Wellesley College. Still, for some reason nothing really stuck. I got A Hundred Miles Off as soon as it came out, and loved it -- All Hands And The Cook, Louisiana and Lost In Boston are great, highly-underrated songs. Still, it wasn't until 2008's You & Me that The Walkmen finally burrowed deep into my consciousness. That masterpiece of an album finally made something click, or maybe it was the result of a growing body of work that finally I couldn't ignore any more.
In any case, sometime in the last two years it finally dawned on me that this was probably my favorite band. The sound (spastic drums, the live-wire electric guitar tone and organ), the lyrics, the attitude, the place (in my opinion, the Walkmen's sound is as inseparably tied to New York City as the Velvet Underground, The Ramones and very few others). With all of that buildup, Lisbon was the first Walkmen album that I listened to with high expectations - and it has exceeded all of them. Angela Surf City, Woe Is Me, Victory are the trademark anthems, but Blue As Your Blood, Stranded, Juveniles and All My Great Designs showcase the restraint and subtlety that the band has developed over time - showcasing the songcraft and the mellower side of Hamilton Leithauser's voice. It is another jewel in the crown of one of the most consistently great bands of the last 10 years - and certainly the most enduring of the buzz bands to emerge from NYC circa 2000.
Complete live recording of The Walkmen's set at Nor'easter is available below for stream/download -- sound quality is fantastic. Kudos to the excellent crew for the excellent sound, and of course huge thanks to The Walkmen for their taper-friendly policies - enjoy!
The Walkmen
Nor'easter Festival - Lincoln, NH
September 25, 2010
Blue As Your Blood
In The New Year
Woe Is Me
Juveniles
Postcards From Tiny Islands
Angela Surf City
Victory
All My Great Designs
On The Water
The Rat
Canadian Girl
All Hands And The Cook
All Hands And The Cook
Reader Comments (3)
Will be listening to this when I get home tonight. One of my favorite bands the last few years as well.
Enjoy Ryan, I think you'll dig it. Will you be at the Royale show?
I could really relate to this post! The Walkmen really crept up on me until somewhere around my 100th listen of You & Me, I realized that they were probably my favorite band. Lisbon came out and at first I thought it was only an adequate follow up, but the more I've listened, the more I've come to love it as much if not more. Such a great band!