The Walkmen Album: “Pussy Cats Starring the Walkmen”

This is not meant to be a major artistic statement. The Walkmen had already released an official album in 2006, "A Hundred Miles Off". This was just a fun record for the band to put together as their private studio, Mercata, was closing. It's comparable to Camper Van Beethoven's take on Fleetwood Mac's Tusk. No, it's not a great record, but it's pretty fun and crazy and interesting to listen to. As always, Hamilton Leithauser is a truly unique and exciting vocalist, and the band does manage at times to capture its usual otherworldly atmospherics. Buy it used. It's worth it.

Hello Walkmen fans,

If you are looking at this CD, then you probably have all their other material. Basically, it's just a fun record. You know the story: old studio under the clocking tick of the wrecking ball and nothing else to do but kick out the jams. They obviously had a ball doing this and for that it's worth the high price. The DVD is comical, reminds me of Camper Van Beethoven, and is worth looking at once, if not just for the wicked cover of Loop De Loop.

If you are a new Walkmen fan, shame on you. They've been around far too long to be overlooked. Start with 100 miles and work your way forward; this should be the second to last CD to have.

The Walkmen have been one of the most intelligent and prolific bands to come out of the NYC scene. They came out with a great album earlier this year. It baffled some people. So here they are back already with "Pussy Cats." This is based on a famous album created by John Lennon and Harry Nilsson almost thirty years ago. It's often a record you don't hear much about. They got a few friends together like Svenonius and Rockwell to help sing the lead. Some songs like "Many Rivers To Cross" seem like a perfect song for the Walkmen. "Subterranean Homesick Blues" sounds a little too loose. There are some cool ballads. "All My Life" is a great song. Another favorite is "Old Forgotten Soldier." The song "Rock Around The Clock" is pretty funny. This is a quality album. One of the weirdest records of the year.

Who thought it was a good idea to remake things other artists have done note for note??? Does copying an entire album deserve recognition whether they do a good job or not??? Of course not, unless you're their parents.

This imitation of the 1974 Nilsson classic shows just how desperate artists have gotten that they no longer seem self-inspired or clever enough to at least make unique covers but actually just ape them. It doesn't matter if this was "just for fun" or not; they are capitalizing on the work of another artist as well as capitalizing on the consumer- why not make it free with the "real" release, A Hundred Miles Off.

I do think that the Walkmen are pretty decent band in an ocean of mediocrity, but this should of stayed hidden. The one redeeming thing about this is at least they picked a good musician and not someone who has already been covered way too much. Otherwise, just get the classic Nilsson Pussycats album and see what a great artist can do while drunk, pissed and with a damaged vocal-cord!