Heaven

The Walkmen | Format: MP3 Music

Product Details

• Original Release Date: May 29, 2012
• Label: Fat Possum
• Copyright: 2012 Fat Possum Records
• Total Length: 47:00
• Genres:
  • Alternative Rock
• ASIN: B0085CSVJ2
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,238 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Ham and the boys do it again with a great mix of rockers and slow burners May 29, 2012

By J. Luiz

Format:Audio CD

A number of music critics have made a lot of the fact that this new album represents a mellowing of the Walkmen, now that they're all married with families, and no longer the angry young men bellowing over unrequited love. But the fact of the matter is that not every song on their early albums is as amped-up as their hard-driving classic, the Rat. They've always done a mix of upbeat rockers and more mellow slow burners. Here you get that mix again in masterful combination. If you like the hard-driving tunes, there are four in that great energetic, classic Walkmen mode -- the title song, "Heartbreaker," "Nightingales," and "The Love You Love." On the latter, you can just picture Hamilton Leithauser in concert tilting his head back, pointing the mike up at the 45-degree angle as he does, and belting out his angry, yell. (No one sings/yells better than Ham.) It's the stuff that sends tingles down your spine. Just as I did with LISBON, I was admittedly concerned about the number of slower, ballady songs, because I'm naturally inclined to adrenaline-releasing songs and I most often listen to music when I'm working out, but I was surprised at how quickly the slower songs got under my skin and gradually impressed the heck out of me. The same thing happened here, only perhaps faster. I gave this a number of listens on NPR First Listen, and was surprised I was eager to give more listens to the song where Ham just calmly sings with minimal instrumentation. The quiet, acoustic guitar plucking along that opens "Line by Line" is a perfect example of this. And the simple, beauty of a ballad like "Song for Leigh," in which Ham sings to his daughter, is impossible to resist. The "Witch," with its heavy keyboard opening, has that eerie, otherworldly sound that they occasionally pull out as they did for "On The Water" from YOU & ME. As one more extra bonus for this album, they have Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes doing background vocals on some songs, including the great, mellow, but beautiful opener, "We Can't Be Beat," in which Ham sings about the virtues of muddled reality vs. the ideal - "I don't need perfection ... give me a life that needs correction." It's another great Walkmen album -- I'm grateful they've produced six original material albums - and hope they keep doing it for years to come.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Already the best album of 2012 June 2, 2012

By Vince H.

Format:Audio CD

This might be their best. I've already listened to this album a dozen times. You thought "Lisbon" was replayable, wait till you get a hold of this record. I didn't think they'd be able to top "Lisbon" but this actually might be a slight notch above it. The Walkmen should have Phil Ek produce all their records from now on. The production has that wonderful crispness and clarity we've come to expct from Ek plus the songwriting is top notch. Sorry I am a bad reviewer but this is for those who are awaiting the album or are unsure after "Lisbon" - you will not be dissapointed.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Walkmen come through again... mostly June 7, 2012

By John P. Flores

Format:Vinyl

The Walkmen always seem to be just slightly off the mark from making perfect albums. This albums is no except. It's starts off so strongly and then seems to fizzle out toward the end (the exception being the album's namesake, Heaven). It's still a damn good album and I recommend picking it up.