In that elegantly disheveled mutter-wail thing of his, frontman Hamilton Leithauser starts new album Lisbon off by singing: “You’re with someone else tomorrow night/ Doesn’t matter to me/ ‘Cause as the sun dies into the hill/ You got all I need.” He’s sad and pathetic and needy and yet somehow still smooth, which is sort of the central animating paradox at the heart of the Walkmen. They make these wounded, anxious songs, but they make them so confidently, with such unearthly rich-guy assurance. The band’s specific style of indie rock is very rooted in a scrappy, scratchy New York tradition that dates back to the Velvet Underground or Bob Dylan, but their take on it is theirs and theirs alone. You know one of their songs right away when those winding, circular guitars and surging drums and gargling vocals kick in. They’re so performative in their sadness, but that stuff never rankles or comes off tantrumy, since the band is just so good at this stuff. There’s a song on Lisbon called “Woe Is Me”, and it’s not even remotely a joke. Great song, too.

Et sigende citat om The Walkmen fra Pitchfork’s 8,6-anmeldelse af New York City-bandets Lisbon, en nøgtern, åbenhjertelig og ofte ligefrem positiv (!) efterfølger til forrige års mørktulmende You & Me. Et nyt album der kræver tilvænning i anderledes lyd og stemning, men som derefter belønner rigt, uden dog helt at kunne matche sin dramatiske forgængers brillante styrke. Suverænt band under alle omstændigheder, med Hamilton Leithauser’s vokal i nydelsens absolutte centrum. Lisbon udsendes nu i dag i USA, men først i Europa 11. oktober.