Never has “by Sean Walsh” meant so much as it does today.  Check out this link for my first freelance writing piece EVER.  Big shout out to Kenny Herzog at MOG Music Network and my buddy Abe (a-rah-ham) for playing matchmaker!

…and for those of you who are interested in the editing process, you can see how 300 words becomes 200 by comparing the MOG post to the unabridged version below.

HOORAY FOR MONDAY!??

The Walkmen | Lisbon

In the four proper full-length albums since their debut, The Walkmen have covered a lot of ground musically, but they’re not quite a hundred miles off from the distinguished sound they introduced on Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone.  Entrenched in the gritty, ever-changing NYC music scene, they continue to polish their vintage style, receiving critical acclaim with every offering.  Their most recent release, Lisbon, further refines their recipe for success, mixing equal parts rock and lullaby, for some serious Rockaby, baby.

Within the album’s eleven tracks, the ‘Men run the gamut; from the manically percussive “Angela Surf City,” to the spacious, lonely echo of “While I Shovel the Snow.”  But despite tempo shifts and the melodic ebb and flow, Hamilton Leithauser’s signature vocals anchor the ship in familiar waters.  Always pushing for the top of the register, his strained howls on the triumphant “Victory” find him at the summit looking down.

Another recent Walkmen standard making a welcomed appearance is the urbane horn section, which takes center stage on the album standout, “Stranded.”  The trumpet blasts strike a balance somewhere between confident and melancholy as Hamilton laments, “There’s broken glass all around my feet / Laid my plan so carelessly.”

Contrary to the lyric though, the east coast five-piece has been anything but careless, diligently crafting a succession of widely celebrated albums that have endured the internet era’s “chew ‘em up, spit ‘em out” protocol.

Building on this success, Lisbon eventually pushes beyond the familiar, forging a path into new territory; at times sounding as vast as the ocean that separates the band from the album’s namesake.  An extension of The Walkmen’s already impressive catalog, it summarizes their journey over the past ten years.  And considering how far they have come, let’s hope Lisbon is not their final destination.

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