The Walkmen have long employed mood and atmosphere into their sound as if they were a sixth member; as such they deftly capture the bittersweet, slightly inebriated, tone of “the holidays.” The below track is their own take on the festivities, courtesy of 2004′s Christmas Party ep. MP3: The Walkmen :: Christmas Party _____________________________________________________________________________________

Last week at the Greek theater, just prior to the Walkmen taking the stage, I overheard a man trying to explain the band’s sound to his date. A number of adjectives and descriptors were tossed about — ‘torchy,’ ‘indie rock,’ ‘crooner,’ ‘jazz’ — which is fitting for a group that continues to defy easy genre [...]

The Walkmen’s latest record, Lisbon, is another set of glossy black-and-white drama from the New York quintet.  Like You & Me before it, Lisbon paints its portraits of drawn-out relationships with wiry guitars and off-center drums.  Aquarium Drunkard caught up with vocalist Hamilton Leithauser a few days before Lisbon’s release. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Aquarium Drunkard: How are [...]

Our friends at Daytrotter are quite the prolific bunch — to the point I can’t possibly keep up with everything they are doing in real time. But I do make a point to go back and catch up on the sessions I’ve missed.  Most recently this included the two separate sessions the Walkmen cut while [...]

(Sevens, a recurring feature on Aquarium Drunkard, pays tribute to the art of the individual song.) I know, I’m with you. It’s hot out there. Late summer in Los Angeles, much of which by the way is un-air conditioned, can be brutal. And then there are those Santa Ana winds ‘blowing hot from the north.’  [...]

Happy New Year.  In case you missed it, The Walkmen’s album You & Me was one of our favorite LPs of 2008.  As the year closes out we caught up with Walter Martin to discuss, among other things, the critical reaction to the band’s previous two releases, The Velvet Underground, Roy Orbison, recording/production and songwriting, [...]

Our continuing Aquarium Drunkard Presents series at Republic New Orleans continues with The Walkmen Tuesday, September 30th, with special guests The Little Ones. The band is presently on the road touring in support of their new (excellent return to form) LP You & Me. We have 10 pairs of tickets to the show to give [...]

Alright, so 2006′s A Hundred Miles Off was…well, a bit off; and the follow-up Pussy Cats, a practically note for note rendition of Harry Nilsson’s rasp-fest was, while good, just that (more often than not making me want to throw on the original and be done with it). But forget all that, or at least [...]

Drove up to San Francisco yesterday, immediately following White Denim’s performance on my Little Radio show (do see them live), and arrived in the city about 10:15. Got to The Independent for the Broken West/Walkmen show, just as The Walkmen were taking the stage. That boy can play the drums (see above video). Anyone in [...]