When this album begins you feel like you've wandered into a remote village church. Creaky organ music echoes around and then as you pass the dusty confessional box you hear a hoarse voice croak "We're counting on you". Half of you wants to run for the door but the other half is intrigued so you stay. Everything is still for a moment and then 'The Rat' scurries out in front of you, the organ intensifies and is joined by a ragged guitar and stuttering drums. You cry out for help but the hoarse voice just replies "You've got a nerve to be asking for favours".
This is the chilling welcome that awaits you on Bows & Arrows by The Walkmen.
The rest of the album is less immediate, more understated, but gradually Hamilton Leithauser's fragile vocals and Walter Martin's ethereal organ crawl their way into your affections. There are jagged shards of Joy Division, Elbow and Mercury Rev strewn about but they've been loosely stuck together to create something quite new.
The church of The Walkmen is a disturbing place to be but once you've visited you'll always want to go back.
Listen to this album if you like poking around old abandoned buildings.
Article by Andy McLean. Copyright held by author.
First published in The Brag, Sydney, 2004.
Bows & Arrows is available through Warner Music.
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