Event Detail
The Walkmen w/The Head & The Heart & TV Torso
All Ages
Friday, March 4, 2011
Doors open at 7:00PM
At the halfway point of Lisbon, the sixth studio album by esteemed rock band The Walkmen, front man Hamilton Leithauser sings, "Victory, right beside me / Victory, should be mine." Arguably the album's sonic climax, the chorus also serves as an appropriate mission statement for a band on the receiving end of so much admiration but so many false starts.
Formed in 2002 by members of celebrated indie rock bands Jonathan Fire*Eater and The Recoys, The Walkmen burst through New York City's crowded garage rock scene with their debut album Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone. Recorded in the band's analogue Harlem studio, Marcata Recording, the album captured public and critical attention for its freshness, use of atmosphere, and vintage instrumentation. Where the debut focused on restraint and sonic exploration, the band's highly anticipated follow-up Bows & Arrows tightened their sound and reached for grandeur. It would spawn indie rock anthem "The Rat" and inspire numerous young bands to cut their hair, button up oxford shirts, and ditch their converse. Two albums followed including 2006's A Hundred Miles Off and the band's song-by-song cover of Harry Nilsson and John Lennon's 1974 classic Pussy Cats. The former polarized fans and critics while the latter served as a last-call to Marcata Recordings - relinquished that year in a Columbia University land grab.
In stores September 14th through Fat Possum Records, Lisbon brings a raw, fiery rock n' roll spirit to the songwriting complexities of You & Me. If You & Me was a return to form, Lisbon feels like their moment.