“I hear that you got yourself a job
And all your friends, you’d finally nailed down
But you go out in the night ’til you got no place to go
Something you ain’t doing right is haunting you at home

Now we’ve been hanging round for quite a while
So let’s get out of here and take a drive
On the parkway tonight, you can hear the engines roar
The flashing lights will nab you when you’re driving your way home
And someday, when you turn around, you’ll see the door is closing”

Critically acclaimed indie five piece , The Walkmen are D.C. based but were most associated with the NYC Art-Punk revival of the early 2000’s and on their somber yet sprawling sophomore release the group brings holiday hangover gloom to your studio apartment with low organs, rueful croons and unrelenting drums.

Bows + Arrows is a loose concept album about the end of relationship and the stages of grief that surround it. From lashing out in anger to the quiet whispers of regret, lead singer Hamilton Leithauser’s croon and blunt lyrics perfectly encapsulate the magic of a shared glance across a crowded room and the loneliness of self reflection on the quiet walk home later that night.

On a personal level, I can’t really overstate how much this band and album has influenced me over the years. Released on the eve of my own, “partying days” and having spent over half of my life now in loud clubs, playing shows (hundreds of shows, thousands of hours in bars) very few bands can really nail the come down after a raucous night out on the town and the emptiness that it can bring.

Year Released: 2004

Genre: Indie / Post-Punk Revival

Label: Record Collection

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