Wild for The Walkmen, Wolf Parade, and Whiskeytown

By Jason Hunter

The Walkman – Bows & Arrows (2004)

Of all the great albums released by The Walkmen, 2004's Bows + Arrows is my favorite. I spent months listening to it and twice saw them touring in support of it. Their sound is a primitive mix of tremble-y guitars, lonely organs, plinky pianos and the unique howling of Hamilton Leithauser. Songs come in two speeds - slow and pummeling and they do both so well. For the slower paced songs like "What's In It for Me" and "No Christmas While I'm Talking" the guitars seem to ebb and flow in response to the volume of Leithauser's wails. The faster paced songs like "The Rat", "Little House of Savages", and "Thinking of a Dream" pound away and don't relent until they arrive at the chorus. Once there it is a respite of doubt and vulnerability before diving back into their bad attitudes and snarl.

Wolf Parade – Apologies for the Queen Mary (2005)

Wolf Parade are the kind of band that Wednesday Adams would love. Their debut album is full of creaky tunes, wild stabs of guitars, organ shards, rickety drums and an off-kilter mix of singing/shouting. A third of the songs have "ghost" or "curse" in them and almost every song has some Tim Burton-like imagery. It takes me days to shake the image of someone building "a house inside of you / I'll go in through the mouth / I'll draw three figures on your heart" ("You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son"). This album has always been an exhausting listen - the first five songs are perfectly sequenced, you get a short break at track 6, then it's another rush through the final six songs. The album culminates in "This Heart's On Fire" a rave-up that just might be a Springsteen song from an alternate universe.

Whiskeytown – Pneumonia (2001)

Whiskeytown's 3rd and final album was a bittersweet listen for me. Here I discovered of collection of heart-warming and heartbreaking alt-country songs by a band that had broken up. Everything about this album sounds effortless, which is meant as a compliment. Ryan Adams rolls out a number of good songs – "The Ballad of Carol Lynn", "Jacksonville Skyline", "Mirror Mirror", "Crazy About You" – that draw a straight line to the success he experiences as a solo artist. However it's when Adams collaborates with others that things get interesting. His work with vocalist and fiddle player Caitlin Cary ("Don't Wanna Know Why", "Easy Hearts") and his work with ex-Smashing Pumpkin James Iha ("Don't Be Sad", "To Be Evil") have this special spark that elevates those songs above all others. Still, this album will always revolve around the song "Bar Lights". It is a perfect encapsulation of a great, modern, drinking song.