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In 2000, from the ashes of Jonathan Fire*Eater and the Recoys, formed the Walkmen. Built on layers of cacophonous guitar, swirling funeral organ, hyper kinetic drums and Hamilton Leithauser's ever straining vocal cords, the band released Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone (2001). While they didn't garner the hype of the Strokes or Interpol, they served notice of things to come.

They followed with Bows + Arrows (2004) which built upon their established sound and sharpened it to an alarming degree. They enjoyed moderate acclaim for the single "the Rat" and even appeared on Fox television's the O.C.

Through this point their songs had primarily been based on darker themes of revenge and shame. Should they have continued on this path, they would have risked becoming cliché. The Walkmen avoided this trap by fine tuning their sound. With the release of A Hundred Miles Off, The Walkmen have taken a marked change in approach. To begin with, the trademark organ is absent from most songs. The album opens with "Louisiana" which builds on a ramshackle chords progression until it is overtaken by mariachi horns. This is a dangerous formula which could have easily backfired (see Joe Walsh's "A Life of Illusion") yet really brings the song to life.

Much of the album contains echoes of Bob Dylan and The Band without pulling the music too far from The Walkmen’s already established sound. The mix on this album is striking and, at times, abrasive. The edges are rough and the guitars sound more brittle than before. In spots, Leithauser's vocals induce wincing as you are left to wonder how he has yet to shatter his pipes. He often leaps from a drunken croon to a pained howl within the same song.

The diverse aural jumping found on this album is actually affecting and engaging more than it is distracting. "Lost In Boston," "Tenley Town," "This Job is Killing Me," and "Always After You" are hard charging and punk at the root. The album’s closer, "Another One Goes By," explores a more sullen sound. This song, which may be the strongest track on the album, threads on the same blue-eyed soul territory as Neil Diamond, and does so without sounding contrived.

While none of the songs on this album are as immediately engaging as "We've Been Had" (from their first album) or "Little House of Savages" (from their second), the songs on A Hundred Miles Off are rewarding to the listener with repeated exposure.

Run, don't walk, to your chosen music provider and buy it now.

Reviewed by: Ghostly

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