Average Metacritic score is 79 (25 Reviews):

The Walkmen
You & Me (Gigantic)
US Release Date: August 19
Rating: 87

http://www.cokemachineglow.com/record_r ... andme-2008

The Walkmen

You & Me
(Gigantic; 2008)

Rating: 87%
Combined Rating: 79%


We needed this. The Walkmen needed it, sure, but so did our collective timelines. So did the year 2008, if we’re talking about indie rock (which we are). In a year characterized by indie stalwarts attempting to both reassert and hone what made them famous while pushing into new territories (bands like: the Notwist, Subtle, Portishead, Sun Kil Moon, Mount Eerie, Bonnie “Princeâ€

Easily Top 5 for me.

yeah i'm done with this band.

again, they prove that they can write a decent single.

Then they retain all of the exact eq settings and guitar effects and everything from the single for the rest of the record, except the other songs suck.

Also someone needs to tell this dude that the "Dylan" thing he's doing with his voice is really fucking annoying.

This is a band that I would probably get in a punch up with if I ever met them after 5 or so minutes of conversation. They seem like such pretentious, conservative, nerdy fuckwits.

Someone needs to pit these guys off against the Hold Steady in a cage match; see who is full of more shit when they're busted open.

fucking love this album, listen to it at least once a week since it came out.

this is #1 for me...just edged out the No Age album.

Interesting that you guys would actually "give up" on a band. How Republican.

That last Walkmen record didn't click for me for a LONG time; i'm still holding out hope for this one but so far, i'm not feeling it; I think these guys and the Cold War Kids got carpet bombed by The War on Drugs doing their sound better than they could this year.


Interesting fact: I've never heard their debut which I know a lot of you guys think is the best thing they've done (barring some early EP I am sure)

I try every time a new album comes out and I need to accept that I just don't like this band.

I think this is their best album so far. No one song really stands out to me but I think the tracks flow really well together.

That said, I'm not that big a fan of Walkmen so I still don't listen to it that much.

Yes, their debut is the best thing they've done, but no, this isn't some stereotypical record snob thing where people are just trying to claim that their earliest stuff (demos, EPs, CD-Rs, whatever) is the best. Their first album had a very different sound, much more melodic and poppy, I think. Also the vocals weren't as consistently strained. Their current sound stems from Bows & Arrows and songs like "The Rat" that are really dramatic and strive for a sort of Springsteen-esque sound.

Anyway, I like the new album, but much like Bows & Arrows, I don't love it and haven't really found much from it to latch onto. I still don't think I've ever listened to A Hundred Miles Off, btw.

huge fan of them, but never really did give this record a try. it didn't wow me at first so i threw it on the backburner but will def need to give a few more spins again.

FWIW, I was soliciting someone/anyone to send me a copy of the debut, lol.

Funny you should mention "The Rat" and its influence on their subsequent material: I don't hear that at all. "The Rat" seems like an anamoly (albeit a good one) to me.

And you should check out Bows & Arrows, its my personal favorite of the three Walkmen records I've heard.

I enjoyed them for a while, but have grown very 'meh'.

agreed. a couple good songs over 3 albums. i'll wait for the greatest hits comp.

Alright, I'll try and upload it tonight if you don't get it somewhere else first. Lately I feel like I never come through on these kinds of promises, though.

And on that last comment, did you mean A Hundred Miles Off?

they finally proved to me that they can string together a records worth of good songs, instead of like in the past where they had maybe a couple great songs and then got boring afterwards. probably top 5.

There is a brief period, about two fifths way through the LP, when you think this might actually be a great record but ultimately its just wearing.

i like you but you say some stupid things sometimes.

I did.

"I'm Shiv, and I just found...the internet."

i'm busty and i don't know how to use simple board functions.

uh...no.

I think its the most consistent album from The Walkmen yet. I found the other 3 to have a ton of filler (though I barely remember listening to Bows + Arrows).