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The Walkmen - most underrated working band?
I've been into them in fits and starts since hearing The Rat on MTV2 when I was a teenager.
I imagine my experience is simillar to most. I got Bows + Arrows and was dissapointed it wasn't just the crystalised rage of The Rat for an entire album. Now I wish I could go back and kick myself in the face; I can only imagine how great a break-up album it would have been to me if I'd only let it.
I really gave them the attention they deserved when DiS went all hot and heavy for You and Me. A great, dark, beautiful, sad, triumphant winter album. It's an immersive, obsessive listen and I love it.
But after that you all got it wrong: You said Lisbon was a dissapointing follow-up. It's shorter, punchier, leaner. Maybe even happier. I think I prefer it but it's at least as good. Sadly, as with all their albums - it's taken me years to see it for what it is.
Because of that, I was slow in getting their most recent one, Heaven. Their 'happy' album. Listening to it over the last few days I can't believe I've waited so long. It's great, a real treat. This is a thread to celebrate how great this band are - but I'd also lie it to be a cautionary tale: for anyone stupid and slow like me. GET Lisbon and Heaven. Get them now. They're real classics.