Heaven

You can't say this about many music artists, but The Walkmen create a wholly, unique mood. It's the sound of a band playing in a room, but with such a focus and a flair for the purity of rock n' roll. It's almost heartbreaking to think they are not a bigger force on the charts, but it's equally frustrating that they've never matched the career high of 2004's Bows + Arrows, their remarkable second album, and its breakout single "The Rat." They've made three albums since then and while they've all been good, none have reached the energy and emotion of Bows + Arrows, which is a problem for an album-oriented band. That said, Heaven is proper attempt at that intense passion, but with more of a grown-up, mature vibe. Acoustic guitars, ballads and mid-tempo tracks reveal themselves like family portraits and landscape paintings, some of them feeling more like black and white sketches begging for definition and color. It's a joy of a record that never gets too flat or dark. Bouncing back and forth from a down-tempo shuffle to an anthemic sing-a-long, the Walkmen do what they do best, creating a mood with honesty and devotion.