THE WALKMEN - BOWS & ARROWS

The Walkmen's Bows & Arrows (Record Collection Music) opens with a soft, airy number called "What's In It For Me". Often, when you hear a track like that opening things up, you figure it's a preview for the rest of the album. On my work lunch break, listening to the CD on, appropriately enough, my Walkman, I even turned up the volume; so quiet and delicate was the first track.
So, naturally, track two, "The Rat", bursts in with loud guitar and a driving drum beat, blowing out my eardrums with its '80s rock sound. Stunned, I removed my headphones and tried to stand, but my equilibrium was all goofy. I stumbled around like a drunkard. (When, in fact, on my lunch break I was only buzzing. Not totally shitfaced. I kid.)
The rest doesn't follow that quiet-to-loud template quite so extremely, but there's a nice variety of styles and feelings to the songs. I also detected an occasional early U2 influence, especially in vocalist Hamilton Leithauser's impassioned Bono-esque singing voice, but no one will get the bands confused. The Walkmen have their own sound.
The Walkmen's Bows & Arrows is a solid rock album that will grow on you with each listen. I'm definitely sober enough, I think, to recommend it wholeheartedly.