Real music fans know that the best music--whether we're talking Einstuerzende Neubauten or Thelonious Monk or Sonic Youth or Prokofiev--won't give it all up on the first listen. Some of the true greats (say, Neubauten) may not give it up for the first fifty listens. Some people don't have enough patience for the greats. Some people want hooks, they want them big, they want them simple, and they want them NOW.

Thankfully, The Walkmen aren't offering you a whole hell of a lot of grocery store whipped-cream hooks on your first listen, or maybe even on your second or third. But if you're a music lover, you may detect on that first listen that there's some serious music going on here, and that you need to give The Walkmen more time--a few more spins--before you make any judgments. If you do, you'll be rewarded.

Once you begin to really hear it, this is a beautiful, beautiful disc, one of the best in my collection. The artistry here is incredible. Check out the production and the composition work in Stop Talking or the deceptively simple, almost undetectable word-hook in That's the Punch Line that you'll find yourself repeating days later without at first knowing where you got it. And We've Been Had is an alternative anthem if ever I've heard one.

In terms of comparisons to other artists... I don't really think that's a fair question to ask. Sometimes I think I can hear everything from Radiohead to early Malaria to David Bowie to the Pixies here, but that doesn't mean that the influences are obvious or that the music is derivative, because neither is the case by any stretch of the imagination.

These tracks are the best kind of music -- they keep getting better and better with each listen.

At a time when the rock mainstream seems to value uninteresting, derivative, "catchy" material, all style, no substance, The Walkmen arrive to provide a healthy alternative. With their focus apparently on diversity (of sound, of instrumentation, of mood), they manage to create an album notable for the individuality of its every track. They can write simple, accessible rock songs (as evidenced by "Revenge Wears No Wristwatch"), but The Walkmen strive to do more- and succeed. The title track initially rumbles and then bursts into a subtle acceleration that swoops down and picks you up without your even noticing. "We've Been Had" offers one of the catchiest melodies in recent memory, and, coupled with smart lyrics, provides what I consider the best song of the year thus far. The surprising ballad, "Stop Talking," proves that a rock record can slow its tempo down and still maintain its intensity.

There are too many good songs on this album to describe in 1000 words or less. You'll just have to check out "Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone" on your own.

There are some people who simply require a band to be on everyone's top 40 countdown in order to spare a listen.

However, for the rest of us, good music is good music...nuff said. I first heard of the Walkmen when they played a show at a little (emphasis on 'little') coffeehouse in my comparatively small town of Grass Valley, California. I think the reason I enjoyed this show so much was that The Walkmen evoke the same feeling as do the local bands which I've come to appreciate more than the mainstream artists who always seem to have lost something on their journey to stardom. The Walkmen have a style which is delightfully reminiscent of an earlier era in rock and roll, a kind of carefree nostalgia that simply makes you feel good (clearly, a welcome departure from the despairing, depressed style of today's chart-topping rock).

If you ever get the chance to see The Walkmen live, definitely take it, and enjoy the experience of live music the way it should be-small clubs and true sounds. However, until they come to town again, "Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone" is a must-have.

the best thing i can say about this album is that to me, it IS the sound of modern new york. when i listen to it, i remember walking through the snow from columbia to the george washington bridge, alone, at 4 in the morning. it's a new sound, a sound of discovery, a sound that isn't easy, but very rewarding.

The songs on this record are really good, but what really stands out to me is the sound. I believe that their studio is in some sort of loft/industrial type space, and it sounds that way. The sound reflects off of high ceilings and hard surfaces, giving the record a very live feel. The record sounds old, like this was recorded several decades ago and just released now, though it is very clear and dynamic. Everything sounds as if it has a fine layer of dust on it. Treble everywhere, cymbal crashes sound very sharp and hissy, and the guitar sounds tinny and meaty at the same time. Everything sounds rich and vintage. And whatever they did to make the piano sound so murky and strange is excellent. The singer's howling, strange delivery compliments the sound of the band, and he keeps it in control most of the time. The production gives the record a unique, arty ambiance. The record shimmers.

The songs themselves, except for a couple, are not instantly gratifying, but after just a few listens the subtle hooks start to stick. It's always better that way. The arrangements are loose and spare, and the songs take a bit of time to get moving. The mood is sort of dark and depressed. The songs rarely settle into a groove, shifting from one part to another rather than running through a verse/chorus/verse structure as efficiently as possible. A few seem to meander and go nowhere in particular, but they sound very nice doing so. Two tracks stand out as being more traditional, radio-friendly songs. "Wake Up" is one of the catchier, more remarkable songs I have heard in a while, and was the reason I got this record. The way the song builds is impressive, flooring. "We've Been Had" is the song used in a saturn commercial. The singer's vocal phrasing is very strange on this one, leaping up and attacking notes where you wouldn't expect he would, settling back down like nothing happened, and then back up again, as if he's prone to fits. It's really cool, and impossible to ignore. These songs are sharp, catchy breaks from the rest of the tracks, which for the most part prize atmosphere over hooks. The songs are still quite striking, and are varied enough in tempo and mood to keep you're mind from wandering elsewhere. Taken all together, the songs form a record that is mature, resigned, depressed, passionate, and gorgeous.

If you go into this record expecting polished 3 minute pop anthems, you are going to dismiss this as noise and move on. Your loss. If you want to hear something that sounds different, something that aspires to be more than just another rock record, you'd do well to pick this up.