Band: The Walkmen
Label: Record Collection
Release: 2004

1. “What’s In It For Me?” – A+
2. “The Rat” – A++
3. “No Christmas While I’m Talking” – A-
4. “Little House of Savages” – A+
5. “My Old Man” – A
6. “138th Street” – A+
7. “The North Pole” – A
8. “Hang on, Siobhan” – A+
9. “New Year’s Eve” – A+
10. “Thinking of a Dream I Had” – A++
11. “Bows + Arrows” – A++

Comments: This is a seminal album for the Walkmen. Highly regarded as their best offering of the triple ’00s (perhaps a false statment, I really really dug 2008’s You and Me), it’s got a delicate mix of fast post-punk ditties (Rat, House of Savages, Thinking of a Dream) that come off as inspirational (perhaps to a band like Editors) and all the slow and sweet ones (which you know, damnit; I don’t need to list them). The first time I listened to portions of this record was a few years back. I thought it sounded incredibly antique, yet pretty easily accessible. It might just be Ham’s singing, coupled with Paul’s classy guitar play. This classy guitar play is exemplified on “138th Street,” which is about such a serious matter as a man starting anew from what seems to have been a troubled past. In general, this isn’t really light-hearted, but you can’t really expect that from this band. Their concert attire is typically business casual to formal…that tells you something about these gents. Perhaps my favorite of the low brow tunes is “Hang On, Siobhan,” presumably about a girl who wants more and more of the songwriter, but he’s a bit sick of her routine and wants her to slow things down. “New Years Eve” — I’m sure a lot of people can relate to this quick ditty, seeing as it’s over pretty damn fast…like a 12/31 one night stand. “Thinking of a Dream I Had” is just a too good to pass up track. It’s infectious and puts me in high spirits. I listened to it constantly in the winter of 2007/2008 while doing homework at 5:00 AM. Homework at that time is depressing, but this was an aural escape. The organ parts are just out of this world, dude. “Bows + Arrows” is an amazing closer. Ham really belts this out perfectly and is so convincing.

Final Grade: A (97)