the run out reader


the walkmen "the rat" cds (record collection)

record collection
the walkmen

It would be pretty easy to dismiss this much-tipped ex Jonathan*Fire Eater bunch of New Yorkers as Strokes bandwagon jumpers, but somehow they have more style than that. Yes they have that same nonchalant vocal style mixed with the icy guitar cool of Interpol, so comparisons are very valid.

But crucially - on this single at least - they have the tunes to match. "The Rat" has a delicious urgency, the lyrics a mix of lonely unrequited love and righteous anger. "Clementine" is a little more laid back but has a similar sartorial elegance, if not quite the same melodic attraction.

For once maybe the tipsters have it.