Review of A Hundred Miles Off Album by The Walkmen
Artist - The Walkmen
Album - A Hundred Miles Off
Label - Record Collection
The Walkmen are the kind of band the Strokes would be if they has all the indie cred to go with their style - a New York rock/ punk band who rely heavily on shimmering guitars, thick organ and vintage instrumentation. The band's second album Bows and Arrows was an astonishing piece of work, with one of the best singles of this century, The Rat, spiked full of energy and electricity. Unfortunately, this follow-up is a more patchy affair, returning to some of the experimentation of the debut, but without 100% success. The band work so well when driven by the propulsive drumming of Matt Barrick that it seems a shame when they let up, and attempt some more ballad-like songs. The sound works well on songs like single Louisiana, but less well elsewhere, where it sometimes seem a little aimless. This is still the equal of The Strokes' 2006 release, but less than it could have been, and a little less than we hoped for.
Rating 7/10
Mike Rea
Adult Contemporary Essentials
Site - http://www.marcata.net/walkmen
