The past decade witnessed a mass withdrawal of humanity. The more technology expanded, the more Man contracted. Online networking exploded, but more houses locked their doors. Over the past ten years, no band has encapsulated this phenomenon better than the Walkmen. They pushed their sound to the limit, filling every void with distortion and leaving no moment untouched, but they sang with crippling reservations and loneliness. Perhaps their spirit is captured best on Bows + Arrows' standout track ""The Rat"" when singer Hamilton Leithauser reflects, ""When I used to go out I would know everyone that I saw / Now I go out alone if I go out at all.""
Coinciding with their paradoxical nature, the Walkmen solidify and advance this depressive narrative with a strong support system. The five-some debuted with 2002's Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone, a stirring wake-up to a post-modern America that proved stronger than any cup of coffee. And, most impressively, they stayed that way—forgiving their slight misstep on A Hundred Miles Off—until 2008's celebrated You & Me, creating an impressive body of work whose importance should not be dismissed.
