Miles ahead or miles away?

If "The Rat" and "We've been Had" are the only Walkmen songs on your ipod and you've got $13 you're looking to piss away, you might want to stay away from A Hundred Miles Off. However, if you're favorite Walkmen song is "Hang on, Siobhan" like me and you're actually a fan, then go ahead and check out the latest from N.Y.s finest art-rock quintet. \nHamilton Leithauser and the boys try to step outside the box and expand with this one with the use of flamenco sounding horns on the albums first song "Louisiana" to later getting into strange tribal and punk rock percussion. Regardless of the experimentation, Miles is a Walkmen record through and through, with its trademark ambient reverbing guitars and brilliant, melodic piano and organ (not to be confused with the jerk-off, metrosexual sorority rock of the Killers and their use of the synthesizer). \nBut, the most surprising thing about the new record is that they have done absolutely nothing that resembles or builds on the catchy, pop-sensible, high energy tracks that made Bows and Arrows so popular and brought them so much acclaim. This is obviously a deliberate choice, one song is even titled "Always after You, 'til You Started after Me". \nLike every other to-cool-for-school indie rock band, they've run screaming in the other direction from whatever brings them national attention. Don't get me wrong, the album is very enjoyable. Upon listening, you'll immediately be humming "Boston" in the car and at work, and "Another One Goes By" with Leithauser's dylanesque croon over a gently swaying fifties sounding guitar, could be the best Walkmen song to date. \nIt's just that there is not a single moment on the album that gets your blood going. It's mellow and unstriking, which is fine but with the flashes of brilliance that have been seen in the past it would have been really nice to see these guys take a run at the throne of indie rock royalty and make an accessible, melody fueled rocking album. But I guess that's just not their brand of whisky. The way I see it, the Walkmen are just shy, standoff art rockers who are guilty of being great songwriters which sometimes causes unwanted attention from the masses. \nSo if you're an uptight music prick, the kind of asshole who hates the Strokes and won't admit Loaded is better than Nico, don't fret, the Walkmen are fighting to stay in obscurity. But if you're just a casual fan of that song from that car commercial or the previous NME tracks of the week, be careful because what you have is a solid record from a solid band but nothing that cashes in on the promise of Bows and Arrows. In fact it's about a hundred miles off.