#10 - You & Me

#10
Artist: The Walkmen
Album: You & Me
Year of Release: 2008
Label: Gigantic

The Walkmen are the only band I've seen live twice.  Once was early 2008 in Madison before I even knew who they were and the other was here in 2013 when they were (as they are now) one of my favorite bands.  This turned out to be quite fortuitous as The Walkmen's biggest strength lends itself to excellent live shows.  If you're curious what exactly that strength is, go listen to the seventh track from this album, "Red Moon."  When Hamilton Leithauser croons "...by your side" about a minute in, you'll hear it.  The way his voice echoes off the walls of the recording space is maybe the most obvious reflection of the richness and attention to detail that The Walkmen put into their work (this record was recorded in four different places, presumably for this reason).  The songs themselves seem to invoke a certain time and place, but it's this additional layer of composition that truly brings it to life.  The revelry at the end of "Dónde está la playa," the raucousness of "On the Water," and the regret present in "If Only It Were True":  The affect of all these sections (and more) is only possible because of this holistic approach to songwriting.