UrbanWireBy Dinesh Ajith
Since releasing their debut album in 2002, The Walkmen has consistently managed to put out world-class albums and are experts when it comes to emotions ranging from heartbreak and sadness to anger and resent. Their ability and willingness to constantly change their themes shows even clearer in Lisbon, their 5th album.
Formed by 3 members from Jonathan Fire*Eater and 2 members from The Recoys, The Walkmen features Hamilton Leithauser (guitars and vocals), Paul Maroon (2nd guitar), Walter Martin on keyboards, Peter Bauer on bass and Matt Barrick on drums.
Those of you who know The Walkmen would already be familiar with Leithauser’s dreary, almost pained vocals, bright sharp guitar notes and Martin’s organ playing that have always tinged their music with nostalgia.
That sound is still distinctly recognizable in this album yet they have also crafted what is possibly their most hopeful sounding album – a stark contrast to their critically acclaimed Bows + Arrows, which had a much angrier tone with numbers such as ”Thinking Of A Dream I Had”.
Lisbon opens with “Juveniles”, a song with a deceptively upbeat melody that serves only to hide the tragedy of lost love. “You’re with someone else, tomorrow night doesn’t matter to me.” As morose as this track sounds, The Walkmen are no strangers to heart-wrenching lyrics and they do it very well.
Thankfully, “Juveniles” isn’t a harbinger for another depressing album like Bows + Arrows or You & Me. Immediately after “Juveniles” comes “Angela Surf City” which is, without a doubt, the album’s finest song. Barrick, as usual, is a barely contained explosion on his drum kit while Leithauser wails on about a self-obsessed girl named Angela – “Mine is yours, yours is yours. Life goes on, life goes on all around you.” The guitars and bass are just as unrelenting, kicking out a surf rock groove that legends like Dick Dale would be proud of. “Angela Surf City” easily holds its own among some of their most iconic songs like In “In The New Year” and “The Rat”.
Track number 8 on the album is “Woe Is Me”. Despite the name, it’s one of the faster and more upbeat songs on the album. By now you’d have noticed how many of their songs are about heartbreak but they do it with such restraint that it never ends up sounding trite or whiny. “Woe Is Me” is no exception.
“There’s a girl that you should know, she was mine not so long ago. Had my number and we fell in love. She put me under then I got lost.”
Although the majority of the album seems to be surf rock inspired, there’s the occasional gem like “All My Great Designs” and “While I Shovel The Snow” which serve as reminders of the band’s older, more restrained sound. While not as upbeat as the rest of the songs on the album, they are still examples of fine songcraft that you rarely hear on our Bieber-saturated radio.
However, the album’s appeal isn’t universal. The guitars aren’t drenched with distortion or a million stomp boxes and the vocals are raw and nowhere near as refined as singers like John Mayer and Taylor Swift. It’s an aquired taste that may not call out to the masses, but that only makes it a more attractive addition to a snobbish audiophile’s record collection.
It’s not often we see an album with so much effort put into it. Which is what you’d expect if you knew that Lisbon is an album culled from over 30 tracks. The band selected only the best and this is apparent as not a single song on the album feels out of place or sub par. The Walkmen have shown themselves to be a lot more than one hit wonders and the effort they put into the entire album is amazing. In short, Lisbon is an album that is truly deserving of our attention.
Ratings: ★★★★ ✩
Title: Lisbon
Artist: The Walkmen
Language: English
Record Label: Fat Possum Records
Release Date: 14 September 2010
Genre: Indie Rock, Surf Rock
Track List
1. “Juveniles”
2. “Angela Surf City”
3. “Follow The Leader”
4. “Blue As Your Blood”
5. “Stranded”
6. “Victory”
7. “All My Great Designs”
8. “Woe Is Me”
9. “Torch Song”
10. “While I Shovel The Snow”
11. “Lisbon”