The Walkmen's You & Me

Earlier this decade, New York City was pumping out the bands that were leading the way in new rock music. Now they come from Nebraska, Texas, Minnesota, and so on; but in 2002, all eyes were on the Strokes and Interpol for "next big thing" status. Unfortunately, both of those bands lost the magic after their debut records and have moved on to produce major label disasters. There is another NYC band that, after hearing their new record, I wish I had spent more time paying attention to the past six years: The Walkmen.

Let's start with the voice. This guy sings like a more desperate Bob Dylan combined with David Bowie on "Rock and Roll Suicide": every line he sings like it's his dying words. How he does this and remains melodic is kind of amazing - he rarely even changes tone or volume with the song. Like Dylan, his voice takes some getting used to, but you'll love it after a few tracks.

The music of the Walkmen is based around two things: steady rhythm and random bursts of instruments. "On The Water" is a tense but beautiful ballad that sounds like it's waiting to explode (and eventually does). On "In A New Year", high-pitched wailing vocals float over bursts of organ-it wouldn't be out of place on Blonde On Blonde.

The album gets better as it goes along. The later half relies on smooth Motown vocals (particularly the gorgeous standout "Canadian Girl") and piano and trumpet touches. "New Country" recalls early Pavement with soft, drowning guitars. "I Lost You" is a mid-tempo stadium rocker that recalls earlier Walkmen records.

Unfortunately, there is nothing as catchy or immediate here as Bows + Arrows tracks such as "The Rat" and "Little House Of Savages", but You & Me is overall a much better album. If you wrote this band off as another band from The OC 5 years ago, you're missing an outstanding record here: one of the best of the year.