Hundred Miles Off

Favourite Albums of 2006 (57 items)
list by El Paulo

indieindie (125 items)
list by angelina

Imagine if Bob Dylan went into the studio with the Strokes. And then they all got drunk on cheap beer. The results would sound fairly similar to this. If that seems like the best idea ever, buy this album. If it doesn't, you should probably stay well clear.

Description: The Walkmen's third album steers their ever challenging sonic textures into greener, more expansive landscapes and finds the fresh air there downright invigorating. A focused, more guitar-centric approach is notable throughout, with textures that span the jangly invitation of the Mexicali horn-spiced opener "Louisiana" to the droning, hypnotic buzz of "Good For You's Good For Me" and churning rhythms of "Boston"; reminders that the band's frequent nods to Joy Division are considerably more than mere affectation. Set against those textures, the nervous "Tenley Town" comes off as a surprisi
The Walkmen's third album steers their ever challenging sonic textures into greener, more expansive landscapes and finds the fresh air there downright invigorating. A focused, more guitar-centric approach is notable throughout, with textures that span the jangly invitation of the Mexicali horn-spiced opener "Louisiana" to the droning, hypnotic buzz of "Good For You's Good For Me" and churning rhythms of "Boston"; reminders that the band's frequent nods to Joy Division are considerably more than mere affectation. Set against those textures, the nervous "Tenley Town" comes off as a surprisingly straightforward shot of the band's thrashy, garage-rooted past. Frontman Hamilton Leithauser frequently invokes a vocal persona that suggests Dylan on too much coffee and not enough sleep throughout. Yet he's limber enough to coax it into the supple, Caribbean-flavored lounge croon of "Brandy Alexander" and the brooding edge of "This Job Is Killing Me" before bringing the album full circle on a surprisingly tender cover of Quentin Stoltzfus's "Another One Goes By" that somehow evokes Nashville Skyline by way of Manchester '78. --Jerry McCulley

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