Highlights: Heartbreaker, The Witch
Heaven
is the sort of indie rock album I can only appreciate while it lasts (though
only fragmentarily), and then I will forget all about its handsomely ringing
guitars, sweet but unexceptional melodies, and perfectly decent vocals that
don’t have an ounce of personality about them. I have a hard time thinking of
two reasons why anyone would find time to obsess over this stuff, but at the
very least it’s all really well-done – so I’ll give them that. Still, the fact
remains: this is indie music with no identity.
Guitars really are the
best thing about this album. They are clear, crisp, jangly, bluesy, folksy, rippling,
and just plain gorgeous. And when the melodies are good (“The Witch”, which is
a unique song in that it has its Nick Cave moments mixed with its Shins
moments; the infectious single “Heartbreaker”), it all makes for a very
enjoyable listen. Most of the upbeat songs are actually quite effective – it’s
when they go for the atmosphere, dreaminess and minor chords (“Southern Heart”,
“Line By Line”) that I start losing them completely. What am I supposed to make
of the closer, “Dreamboat”, that for all its outward prettiness has very little
in terms of substance? It’s just poor. The more upbeat tracks do not outstrip this
bland balladry by a mile, but they are at least moderately catchy.
Heaven
is never annoying: it’s frustrating. It’s good but faceless. Sadly, The Walkmen
are from that all-familiar story in which an excited friend gives you a record
saying this is the shit. You go on a listen to it and then come back to your
friend saying well, okay, but have you heard…?
Think a nice little
indie-rock band run over by Fleet Foxes.
6/10
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