This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Choppy guitars. Gritty walkie-talkie vocals. Dusty underproduction. Angular retro grooves. Sure, N.Y.C. quintet The Walkmen have a few things in common with their more famous Manhattan cousins The Strokes. And I wouldn’t be surprised if that helped land them some much-deserved major-label attention for their sophomore album Bows & Arrows.
But if you’re under the impression that The Walkmen are just a bunch of bandwagon jumpers, you’ve got it all wrong. Most of these boys got their start in the much-lauded but sadly short-lived ’90s outfit Jonathan Fire*Eater, who vanished years before The Strokes arrived on the scene. And while they may share a few superficial sonic similarities with Julian and co., the W-Men spend most of this 42-minute disc firmly establishing their fierce individuality. Propulsive, instantly addictive rockers like The Rat, Thinking Of A Dream I Had and Little House of Savages demonstrate their ability to wield hooks like longshoremen. But more experimental keyboard-based dirges like What’s In It For Me and No Christmas While I’m Talking confirm they’re interested in being more than just this year’s indie-rock hitmakers. And thanks to singer Hamilton Leithauser’s superbly rusted pipes, some of these 11 cuts sound like a bizarre cross between The Velvet Underground, Wilco and The Faces (and I mean that as a compliment). So never mind what little they have in common with The Strokes. With Bows & Arrows, The Walkmen are nothing short of uncommonly good.
