Editorial Reviews Music Review:
Music Review
From Nowhere [Extra tracks] [Import]
Stravinsky: Histoire du Soldat
Rossiniana (Rossini Opera Arias) / Genaux, Flórez, Ulivieri, Manlio Benzi
Music: Taking the Rough with the Smooch
The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 [Box set] [Original recording remastered]
Amazon.com
Containing three former members of much-lamented New York buzz band Jonathan Fire Eater, who self-destructed before striking gold, the Walkmen seem determined not to repeat past mistakes. They marked their return with an unassuming self-titled EP and spent a meandering year on the club circuit before properly breaking this, their first full-length album, with a song loaned out to a car commercial. "Sometimes I'm just happy I'm older," sings Hamilton Leithasuer over the rolling, toy piano melody of "We've Been Had." While on the brittle, angular "Revenge Wears No Wristwatch," he whines, "I've heard it all before / I've had it up to here." But for all the dashed expectations and lingering regret, the Walkmen still look unblinkingly forward. The music here is intense and inventive, combining garage rock, cabaret pomp, and carnival melodies, while still sounding oddly tuneful. Fans of U2 and the Cure should investigate the Walkmen. --Aidin Vaziri