05: The Walkmen – You & Me
Gigantic

You & Me’s defining feature and greatest strength is the focused, intimate and quiet space the band create with the listener. Like all Walkmen records, the production sounds wonderfully huge, but unlike most Walkmen records, it’s not loud. It’s restrained, cut down to its most core qualities, those that most directly communicate to the listener. Singer Hamilton Leithauser is in fine form: just as wistful as ever, but seemingly less bitter and more knowing in a way that brings the listener in close, as if ready to have a conversation (in stark contrast to the often rallying-cry quality of so much of their previous work). The music gently reflects this sensibility, amplifying its effects to easily make this the best Walkmen record since Bows & Arrows and one of the finest of their catalogue.

Labels: 2008 Recap, Album Review, The Walkmen