Photo by J. Lidgett
“Louder!” growls Hamilton, a few seconds after coming onstage at Scala for record label Fierce Panda’s 15th birthday bash. After a roadie hastily attempts to re-jig the sonic balance and fails, the lead singer of The Walkmen seems a little disheartened, but this minor technical mishap does little to ruin the night. Yes, his voice could’ve been louder in the mix, but it really didn’t matter. The acoustic design of Scala seems fitted to The Walkmen’s musical niche, allowing swathes of reverb and measured drumming to bounce off the walls, Hamilton’s voice being carried with it. On a celebratory night, The Walkmen’s gloomy brand of rock may seem like an odd choice. The band is deep in concentration for most of the set, and crowd interaction is kept to a minimum. But to call the music depressing would be an underestimation of the band’s ability to capture an audience and lace songs with euphoric howls and bursts of melodic vigor.
The audience, largely static except during crowd-pleaser ‘The Rat’, seems to appreciate that perhaps this is a gig where staying still, save a few rhythmic nods of the head, is the most appropriate thing to do. The setlist had something for everyone – a well-chosen combination of moodier, slower pieces (both old and new), and some more upbeat compositions. Even gems like the opener ‘Louisiana’ from their album A Hundred Miles Off find their way, settling nicely into the setlist. But the boys from New York seem very proud of their latest work, You & Me (and so they should be), and the choice cuts from the album they perform translate very well to live renditions. The opener of the night, ‘Dónde Está la Playa’ shows off their capability to create a dark sonic floor, the bass and drums ominously providing a lead in before Hamilton starts to sing, his elongated notes sometimes turning into tortured howls. The strength of the whole band is notable throughout, and The Walkmen are willing to let the attention shift from member to member; sometimes stunning guitar work reigns supreme over the mix, sometimes Hamilton’s auxiliary strumming is subtle but enough to add weight to songs to give them a fuller sound. The band become one organism, shifting around so quickly that it’s hard to keep focused on one particular aspect of the music, especially as the bassist and organist (whose sad face rubs off on the audience and provides a poignant portrait for a lot of the songs) frequently swap instruments. If there’s one thing the setlist is lacking, it’s the brilliant ‘Little House of Savages’ from one of their stronger albums, Bows + Arrows.
The band’s best songs of the night were undoubtedly ‘In The New Year’ and ‘I Lost You’, both taken from their most recent album. The former is a good reflection of the band’s recurrence of the theme of holidays in their recorded work – abroad, Christmas, and the New Year to name a few, and how these times are points where relationships are at their most vulnerable, or the lack of them is felt the most. ‘I Lost You’, nestled at the end of You & Me, allows the band to bring on their wind section for the night, who provide excellent backing for several songs, and were obviously called in on short notice as the guitarist had to nod them in and make sure they got their cues right. This, combined with the atmospheric ‘clacks’ provided by Walter Martin, make these live versions more special as you feel the band are pulling out all the stops to faithfully recreate the studio versions, but at the same time taking the opportunity to expand them, frequently altering the pace at will. Although the wind section leaves halfway through the song, the lines “A trumpet and a trombone/still echoing in the hall” are given added meaning in their live context – it may have been the temporary tinnitus or the acoustics of the venue, but I still heard those instruments during the song after they had left the stage. Haunting? Yes. Thrilling? Most definitely.
Hamilton gives the crowd a brief glimpse of new material by playing an unnamed song that keeps building in tension but never seems to find a release. It’s hard to tell the direction the new album will take, and some will undoubtedly say that The Walkmen may have run their course, but judging from their recent effort, they definitely have the capability to reinvent their sound and keep moving forwards. I still think the importance of their most recent effort is yet to sink in for critics and fans alike, so the prospect of a new album on the horizon already is an exciting and slightly scary one.
However good the band are, Hamilton’s charisma, Dylan-esque vocals and brooding lyrics are what make this band stand out from the others clamoring for a place in the indie-rock jungle. He seems to be in a meditative state throughout the gig, banging his face on the microphone as he approaches it in one song, as if his mind is in another dimension. These songs seem deeply personal, and as I stumble back past the stage a few hours later, I see him lying on the floor, absolutely wankered, being dragged backstage by his dedicated bandmates, who give me a cheerful wave, as if to acknowledge that this is a regular occurrence. I can’t help but get the feeling that he spills his soul onstage and has to drink heavily afterward to forget the painful memories which the songs he so seriously performs evoke.
– B. Diamond
