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"... an outfit willing to push the
boundaries of their sound independent of scenester trends." |
The Walkmen
 
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| A Hundred Miles Off |
By: Dimitri Kalagas |
In 2004’s Bows + Arrows, New Yorkers The Walkmen released what may just
have been the best album of that year, and landed a prime (though
slightly out-of-place) live slot on The OC for their troubles. While at
the time it was the swirling fury of their breakout song ‘The Rat’ that
garnered the most attention, the band proved just as adept in its
quieter moments, which staggered along in a haze of woozy vintage
organs, echoing drums and lead singer Hamilton Leithauser’s punch-drunk
vocals. Despite the accolades though, Bows + Arrows didn’t make much of
an impression in Australia, and it’s hard to see their third album A
Hundred Miles Off shifting units any faster. Lead single and opening
track ‘Louisana’ goes some way to distance the band from their
atmospheric blueprint, throwing trebly guitars, ragtime piano melodies
and even some jaunty south-of-the-border horn interludes into the mix –
sure to mess with fans of the earlier albums. The song (like the album)
is a grower though, and reveals an outfit willing to push the
boundaries of their sound independent of scenester trends. While the
rest of A Hundred Miles Off largely settles into more familiar
territory, that’s in no way a slight – from the tribal drum opening of
‘Emma, Get Me a Lemon’, to the veering bluster of ‘Lost in Boston’, The
Walkmen sound like no one but themselves, and deserve a far bigger
audience on these shores.
Alexis Kalagas
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