The Walkmen, University of London Union, London
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Your support makes all the difference.The Walkmen must have a lot of patience. Singer Hamilton Leithauser has three goes at starting the first song before he gets the mic to work, so guitarist Paul Maroon has to repeat his gentle interweaving beginnings to "New Country". But when Leithauser does succeed, his voice breaks out, full and startling, into the room.
Most will know this New York band for their hit "The Rat", but their latest album You and Me takes things up a notch. It's a collection of dreamy, emotive Americana indie-rock that showcases Leithauser's full, throaty drawl – as does this gig. His vocals often send him buckling backwards – unless he's just trying get the attention of the sound desk on the balcony, at whom he seems to be howling for much of the set. It's not the band's fault that the muddy sound doesn't do justice to their intricate guitar and keyboard riffs. The new track "On the Water" should be a song of mystery and elegance; there's a hint of that in the chiming tone of Maroon's guitar, but the sound is clunking and the bass too heavy.
They do manage to reproduce the euphoria and energy of other tracks, enhanced by lively mariachi brass. The epic "Thinking of a Dream" builds up a chiming riff over the galloping drum beat with a synth line akin to The Killers, to mesmeric effect. "All Hands and the Cook" from A Hundred Miles Off is another highlight, and their energetic rendition of "The Rat" inspires a sing-along.
The final song is "Louisiana", an earlier piano-led number, whose jazz-like piano and brass section build to a cacophony ofdissonance and glissando. You'd never guess the band hadn't met their brass section until an hour before the show. But then, The Walkmen are a special talent.
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