Release Date:
Tuesday, February 3, 2004
Artist:
The Walkmen
After hearing their fabulously titled but otherwise unmemorable debut, Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone, we were starting to worry that the Walkmen were a much better idea than a band. Drawn from the remnants of everyones favorite garage-rock cautionary tale, Jonathan Fire*Eater, the Walkmen had style, humor, and hype, just no tunes. But where their debut dragged, their follow-up pops. On The Rat they sound like a band unchained, while My Old Man works up a great, trebly clatter. Even moody, meandering tunes like 138th St. feel more purposefully constructed. Fans of fellow NYC cool kids the Strokes and Interpol will undoubtedly notice the similarities, but the fact theyll notice the Walkmen at all suggests a step in the right direction.