The Walkmen are doing a song-by-song cover of the Harry Nilsson album Pussy Cats, due out this fall. I wasn’t a huge fan of their last album, but strangely embrace this one a little bit more. Still, I usually find myself longing for their return to Bows and Arrows.
MP3: The Walkmen - Many Rivers to Cross
Talking their recent Calexico admiration a few steps away from where they found themselves on A Hundred Miles Off, The Walkmen carry this one on a revolving cast of strings. First of the family is the “heart” of the song: the mournful cry of their slide guitar. Far to gentle to be considered a hook, it backs up Hamilton Leithauser’s vocals and is finally allowed to do a miniature solo halfway through. Without wanting to gloss over the bass contribution (the part of which is beautiful in its simplicity and reserve), I have to say that the violins in the back are what really moves me. They’re constant, and are able to keep the song moving when it might otherwise be tugged down. But curiously, this is a song that delights in stopping that momentum. Just when they’ve got a good thing going, a drumbeat stops us cool in our tracks. If nothing else, these are guys who understood what made the original so great, and have given their hearts to trying to recreate that feel.
