The Walkmen Perform Five New Songs in Chicago

It's no secret that New York quintet the Walkmen have been prepping a new record that is due out early next year. Over the summer, they debuted 'The Sky Above' at various gigs around the country, and songs from their still-untitled album continued to make the rounds at their live show last night at Chicago's Lincoln Hall. Of the 14 songs they performed, five were brand new.

The guys opened with 'The Sky Above' as the pitter-patter of rhythmic percussion filled the packed venue. The next song was also a newbie, an upbeat, mariachi-like tune that exuded woozy romanticism. Near the end of their set, the band played a countrified new song with lead singer Hamilton Leithauser belting out somber lyric, "This year is colder/my dreams are further away." The last song of their regular set saw a horn section enhancing a lamenting ballad. "Why does the rain fall cold when I'm stranded?" Leithauser pondered, obviously considering the big questions.

Lincoln Hall proved to be a perfect venue for the band. The Walkmen's songs contained a certain veener live -- louder and bolder with all the instruments amplified against Leithauser's warbling vocals. Their songs simply took the audience to another time and place, and the rest of the band's set mainly focused on last year's acclaimed record, 'You and Me.' On the throbbing 'All Hands and the Cook,' Leithauser shouted the vocals, hit the a high note and held it for a few seconds, a five-piece horn section came out for 'Canadian Girl' and stayed for a few song and Leithauser ended 'On the Water' with a whistle.

Despite all of the new songs, the Walkmen's songs from older records weren't forgotten. Several 'Bows + Arrows' era songs were performed with the crowd's fists pummeling the air on the soon-to-be decade-old 'The Rat' while the organ boomed on 'Thinking of a Dream I Had.' For the two-song encore, surprisingly half of the crowd had departed, but that didn't deter the band from knocking 'Donde Esta la Playa' and 'Another One Goes By' out of the venue. Replete with the Walkmen's trademark wooziness and '50s nostalgia, 'Another One Goes By' warmed the audience before they headed out into the cold night.