{"id":3214,"date":"2010-11-14T17:36:16","date_gmt":"2010-11-14T17:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/?p=3214"},"modified":"2010-11-16T04:25:22","modified_gmt":"2010-11-16T04:25:22","slug":"the-walkmen-walk-dont-run-to-lisbon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/2010-11\/the-walkmen-walk-dont-run-to-lisbon\/","title":{"rendered":"The Walkmen–Walk, Don’t Run, to Lisbon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

We were minding our business while watching Fallon’s show in mid-September when up came The Walkmen<\/strong><\/a> and sucked us up against the screen.\u00a0 We’ve loved the band’s intensity and delivery over the years, but have appreciated the recent re-evaluation and evolution by the band that in 2008 resulted in the ravishing record, “You & Me,” and has now rendered “Lisbon.”<\/p>\n

The Walkmen began ten years ago in Washington, D.C., moved on to New York, spread to Philadelphia and now also also occupy New Orleans.\u00a0 With that geographical juggernaut and splintering, it’s not a huge surprise that the group decided to gather, write and record in Lisbon, Portugal, and then dedicate the new record to that much-loved city.<\/p>\n

We hear in the new album a move to an even more spare, reverb-soaked sound, but with hooks and subtleties aplenty.\u00a0 Best known for dark, intense songs such as The Rat<\/em> and In the New Year, <\/em> “Lisbon” intermittently murmurs optimism and assurance within the band’s usual tenebrous realism.<\/p>\n

At its core, the band has always been built around singer Hamilton Leithauser’s garbled, squalling vocals, Paul Maroon’s sparkling guitar, Matt Barrick’s swarming drums and assorted keyboard coloratura.\u00a0 While these are all still well-represented on “Lisbon,” we hear a more dynamic, incisive, elemental take on the sound.<\/p>\n

Lisbon is amongst 2010’s stalwart records and deserves the replay setting on your playlist.\u00a0 We highlight some of our favorites off Lisbon below.<\/p>\n

The band performed Angela Surf City<\/strong> <\/em> <\/em><\/strong> <\/strong>on Fallon, and for good reason.\u00a0 The song defines Lisbon’s sound, though at its most aggressive.\u00a0 It starts like a head-high day awaiting a big north swell, with Barrick’s spare, martial drumming before the guitar ventures in vaguely Venture-ish and then adds Leithauser’s quiet but tense vocals.\u00a0 And then at the 54-second mark the chorus kicks in like a rogue wave, gargantuan and ferocious, with Barrick rattling thunderclap drums and Leithauser soaring on vocals.\u00a0 The song ebbs and flows throughout, providing the most intense moments on the record.\u00a0 We like the chorus and stanzas below.<\/p>\n

“You took the high road
\nI couldn’t find you, up there
\nYou kept your jaw wired closed
\nI never noticed before<\/p>\n

I used to see the signs
\nNow I dream of the time
\nI was holding onto you
\nFor a lack of anything to do<\/p>\n

Still the whitecaps roll away
\nStill your name rings true
\nMine is yours, yours is yours
\nLife goes on, life goes on all around you<\/p>\n

Let’s go home happy again
\nJust take your head from your hands
\nTake up the cause, just once more
\nI never noticed before.”<\/p>\n

The Walkmen<\/strong>—Angela Surf City<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n[audio:https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/02-Angela-Surf-City.mp3|titles=02 Angela Surf City]\n

We also love Torch Song<\/em><\/strong>, with its shimmering opening guitar and forlorn, high-plains wail-of-a-vocal that eventually segues into a throwback, doo wop, torch-song motif that is alternately unsettling and comforting.\u00a0 Like life.<\/p>\n

The Walkmen<\/strong>—Torch Song
\n<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n[audio:https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/09-Torch-Song.mp3|titles=09 Torch Song]\n

And below are some telling videos featuring Lisbon songs.<\/p>\n

First up in the videos is album-opener, Juveniles<\/strong>. <\/em>We love the lazy, jangling guitar and bass and the bouncing build of the song.\u00a0 And what’s not to like about the victorious resignation of which Leithauser sings?<\/p>\n

“Oh country air
\nIs good for me
\nNo matter who’s side I’m on<\/p>\n

Let these dead leaves
\nDry in the sun
\nI’ll be up and gone<\/p>\n

There’s a stranger outside
\nOh Lord!
\nHe’s a wiser man than I
\nOh Lord<\/p>\n

I am a good man
\nBy any count
\nAnd I see better things to come<\/p>\n

Could she be right?
\nWhen she repeats
\nI am the lucky one<\/p>\n

You’re one of us
\nOr one of them!”<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

The Walkmen – Juveniles – Live at Governor’s Island<\/a> from Big Ass Lens<\/a> on Vimeo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And finally, Woe is Me<\/strong> <\/em>starts out one-upping Vampire Weekend (a simpering signpost of a band by comparison) at their own game.\u00a0 The difference ultimately is the vernacular and delivery of Leithauser.\u00a0 He simply kills on this song, vocals and lyrics inclusive.\u00a0 There is loss, and there is next.<\/p>\n

“There’s a girl that you should know
\nshe was mine not so long ago
\nHad my number and we fell in love
\nShe put me under and I got lost…<\/p>\n

Woe is me
\nWoe is me<\/p>\n

Hey do you want to walk with me?
\nBy the trees and the factories.
\nHey do you want to hop the fence?
\nIn the sleepy red sunsets<\/p>\n

Woe is me
\nWoe is me
\nWoe is me
\nWoe is me<\/p>\n

Now the street light bright and pale
\nas we sip our ginger ale
\nI kiss you by the blinking signs
\nDon’t be heavy, let’s be light<\/strong><\/p>\n

On and on our merry way
\nOn and on our merry way
\nOn and on our merry way
\nOn and on our merry way”<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

The Walkmen – Woe is Me – Live at Governor’s Island<\/a> from Big Ass Lens<\/a> on Vimeo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lisbon was released after The Walkmen signed to the great independent label Fat Possum. The Oxford, Mississippi-based label, traditionally home to rootsier bands, has seen recent progression, signing Band of Horses, Andrew Bird and indie surf-punk phenom Wavves.\u00a0 Go buy Lisbon and check out Fat Possum’s other offerings here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We were minding our business while watching Fallon’s show in mid-September when up came The Walkmen and sucked us up against the screen.\u00a0 We’ve loved the band’s intensity and delivery over the years, but have appreciated the recent re-evaluation and evolution by the band that in 2008 resulted in the ravishing record, “You & Me,” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3214\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}