Lisbon

The Walkmen | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 14, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Fat Possum
• ASIN: B003VURG44
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,954 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Juveniles

2. Angela Surf City

3. Follow the Leader

4. Blue as Your Blood

5. Stranded

6. Victory

7. All My Great Designs

8. Woe Is Me

9. Torch Song

10. While I Shovel the Snow

11. Lisbon

Editorial Reviews

Lisbon was recorded over the course of eight months beginning in the fall of 2009 with You &Me producer Chris Zane (Passion Pit, Les Savy Fav, Tokyo Police Club). The band then traveled to Dallas to finish the album with producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Explosions in the Sky'). Featuring the band'ssignature vintage instrument-sound, Lisbon will showcase 'A lot of stuff that's Elvis-sounding, like early Elvis and Sun Records kind of sounds,' says frontman Hamilton Leithauser.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Walkmen - Lisbon, September 14, 2010

By 

Rudolph Klapper "www.klap4music.com" (Los Angeles / Orlando) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lisbon (Audio CD)

Unlike many of their contemporaries who decided to burn out in a temporary burst of creativity or fade away in repetitive ignominy, the Walkmen have only continued to get better. It's a bit of a surprise when you consider the band predicated their success on a piss-and-vinegar brand of youthful fire and youthful anger, that New York City vigor and rage exemplified in "The Rat," the band's best known song off their 2004 breakthrough Bows + Arrows. It's the kind of spirit that's all too easy to dissipate as the years pass, and the Walkmen, truth be told, have been no exception. But as 2008's excellent You & Me proved, the Walkmen know how to age gracefully, transforming their earlier ragged edge into a stately procession of horns, spindly guitars and powerful drum work, all anchored by Hamilton Leithauser's cracked croon. It was still the same Walkmen, as the innovative instrumentation and Leithauser's gloomy lyrics made clear, but they had found a way to take their best qualities and shift them into a more expansive sound, the kind of sound that spoke of possibilities for the future. With Lisbon, the Walkmen have realized those possibilities, but in a decidedly strange way: for the first time in years, the Walkmen seem content.

Is that really Leithauser singing "I am a good man / by any count / and I see better things to come" as a jaunty guitar line rolls along and the drums bounce in a way that can only be described as triumphant? And when he follows that up with "could she be right / when she repeats / I am the lucky one," it's a shock to the system of any long-time Walkmen fan - Leithauser seemingly at ease with himself and his girl, and the music, so often ominous and threatening, now a pleasant, upbeat mix that calls to mind rolling country sides and mountain air, not the cramped and dirty alleyways of New York City. If it wasn't already obvious, first single "Stranded" makes it quite clear the new Walkmen of You & Me are here to stay. It's a classic rock ballad, one that boasts a sort of jazz processional feel to it and revels in the lush horn textures that the band has already mastered. Add Leithauser's distinctive, soulful wail, and you have what most of Lisbon ends up sounding like: a bona fide timeless classic, the sort of song that would sound just at home in 1970 as it does in the new millennium.

There's not much rocking out on this record, although when the band does put the foot to the gas, it's vibrant - check out the surf-rock thunder of "Angela Surf City," where drummer Matt Barrick's hard-hitting style shows the Walkmen aren't all that old quite yet. For the most part, Lisbon is a game of give and take: the muscular restraint in the tense "Blue As Your Blood;" the `50s slow-dance mimic "Torch Song;" how "Woe Is Me," besides being in the running for happiest Walkmen song ever, places its sunny pop exuberance perfectly between the more down-tempo "All My Great Designs" and the lovesick "Torch Song." If You & Me showed the Walkmen becoming more comfortable in the studio, Lisbon has them becoming veritable masters of it, from Paul Maroon's shimmery, layered guitar work to Barrick's propulsive style to those Walkmen trademarks, the upright piano and Leithauser himself, whose scratchy howl sounds just as confident and assured singing straightforward love songs as it does spewing venom. When the band wants to be quiet and ethereal, they do it better than most, as on the skeletal, back room intimacy of "While I Shovel The Snow," and when they want to celebrate, they do it righteously, from "Juveniles"' joyous tones to the colorful, cathartic chorus of "Victory."

There's nothing here that will jump out at you like "The Rat" did, and upon first listen Lisbon is a surprisingly tame journey, one that doesn't latch on to you with jagged teeth that refuse to let go like their more black-and-white records. No, it's the sound of a band that knows they don't have to draw blood to get a listener's attention. Instead they can offer up a song like the title track, which builds itself up and up only to slowly disassemble itself into a haze of crisp drum clatters and a nostalgic guitar line until the song ceases with no mess or fuss or, even better, no sense of unfinished business. It's the perfect way to end the record, displaying as it does all the best aspects of the Walkmen's new persona: the vintage production techniques (this is a band that desperately, desperately cares how every little thing comes out sounding); the disciplined yet organic way the band plays off each other; Leithauser's effortless creation of a unique vibe, a specific sound that the Walkmen can now definitely claim as their own and whose distinctiveness may be matched only by the National in the realm of contemporary indie rock. Lisbon is an album from a band finally using the full palette of their talents to adapt and come out the better for it, and that's a pretty picture to behold indeed.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Walkmen's most simplistic yet complex album to date, September 15, 2010

By 

nofilla - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lisbon (Amazon MP3 Exclusive) (MP3 Download)

I thought The National had album of the year in the bag with 'High Violet', but I couldn't have been more wrong.


The Walkmen have taken a more subtle and precise approach with 'Lisbon' than their previous efforts. I can just picture them in some dim lit warehouse somewhere like mad scientists determining which note goes where and with what instrument and how loud to make each note and so on and so forth. It may not seem like that at first listen, but with repeated listens you will soon find out how much time and effort they put into 'Lisbon'. It's their most simplistic yet complex album yet. It's a well rounded mix of all the greatness of their previous albums but it doesn't feel old at all. It's as though they've figured out a way of making all their strengths feel new and refreshed.


From the ballad and first single "Stranded" which sounds like an album highlight from '100 miles off' to the intrepid title track, "Lisbon", that could have been 'Everybody who Pretended to like me is Gone's' most idealistic single, the Walkmen dazzle in every way. The opener "Juveniles" is a perfect start to 'Lisbon'. It's slow and bending lyrics sound as though they are about to embark on a journey and they want you to sit back, drink your whiskey, open your mind and let your thoughts flow. As the end of the song echoes, "you're one of us or you're one of them", you will start to question which one you are as you anxiously await the ride to continue.


There are a few faster paced songs on the album like "Angela Surf City", which will probably be the biggest single on the album just because it's more of the sound the Walkmen are popular for. "Victory" and "Woe is Me" are great emotionally charged high velocity tempo storms that crash you with promise and misery all in a matter of minutes. Other than these three songs the rest of the album sits in the bondage of haste and perseverance.


The only setback on the album is "Follow the Leader". I only say it's a setback because it seems unfinished to me. It has perfect rhythm and smooth lyrics but just didn't seem complete and it kind of halted the album with two very strong tracks before it. On the other hand, I see why its on the album. It builds up to the highlight, "Blue as your Blood". "Blue as your Blood" is the Walkmen's best song to date. As Hamilton croons "Life rolled us over like a town car/Bruised up and busted to the ground", you can feel the sentimentality in his voice. It should be the anthem for every love story, every severed relationship, every guy/girl sitting at a bar thinking about the years past, drinking their favorite drink contemplating every decision, good and bad, they've made over the span of their life. Yes, it's that good.


"While I shovel the snow" reminds me of my childhood in Chicago, thinking of times past and what's transpired since. It brought back memories I forgot I had. It's simplicity and candid emotion will bring tears to your eyes and happiness to your soul. The lines "half of my life I've been watching/half of my life I've been waking up" will make you want to go back to that childhood and slap yourself in the face, tell yourself to do something with your wretched painful life ahead. "Torch Song" and "All the Great Designs" are standouts as well. They keep the album moving at a soul binding pace. As the album digs at your every thought and bulletproof emotion, not stopping until the end of the title track, "Lisbon", hits you and makes you crave a cigar and another drink to flourish what just transpired. But you cant go on this ride just once. It's like your 12 again at six flags on a Tuesday during the summer when there are no lines...just you and the rollercoaster and you keep riding it over and over again...feeling the pain and nauseau of the rollercoaster's jolt but loving every minute of it. You hunger and crave for more. The only thing that's missing from this album is taste and scent, but if you delve hard and long enough you swear you can smell that old after shave lotion your father use to wear or taste those homemade mash potatoes your mom use to make because memories is what this album is about.


Metronomes aren't needed because 'Lisbon' doesn't follow any sort of compliance or standard, it's original and that's something you cant say much anymore about music today. 'Lisbon' brings emotion, it brings character and most of all it brings memories for The Walkmen stand in the likes of none of their peers because their greatness cannot be compared.

If you like my review check out my blog at [...]

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Addictive! It grabs you and won't let go, October 26, 2010

By 

bsg2004 - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lisbon (Amazon MP3 Exclusive) (MP3 Download)

"Lisbon" was my "first contact" with "The Walkmen". I recall seeing the band name before, but I never got around to actually listening to their music until a few weeks ago when through a music service I started listening to this (then just released) album. Slowly, this album, listened as a unit from start to finish, began growing on me, and before you know it, I couldn't stop! It is that good and that cohesive. (I know, in this era of genius and mixes and playlists, and disposable pop songs, "the album" as an art form is not as popular, and it's a shame, but that's another story for another day).

Some songs (Woe is me, Angela, Victory, etc) may stand out more on their own, but really, to make the most of this album, it is best enjoyed as a unit!

It is really hard to pigeon-hole this album in today's music world. After falling for "Lisbon" I went back to some of their previous work and I did notice some Dylan in the voice and some Strokes-like sound. This album however appears to be more like the distilled essence of the band.

This is definitely worth a try! Be sure to give it at least half a dozen start to end plays - it is like wine!

On the logistical front, there is a two disc edition in the UK with the eleven songs (1 thru 11 above) on the first disc, and four additional songs on the second disc. Amazon has one of those four songs as track #12 above.