#matt barrick

[jennyowenyoungs]

Beautiful friends, I am so unbelievably thrilled to tell you that I have a NEW RECORD coming out September 22nd! It's called Avalanche, it was produced by Josh Kaufman (who absolutely rips), and it will be released by Yep Roc Records, my magnificent new label home. The album cover was shot by Josh Goleman, who spent a day in the studio with us working his photographic magic. This will be my first full-length studio album in (brace yourself) over ten years. Time flies when you're cowriting songs with other artists, making a Buffy the Vampire Slayer podcast, and raising a Boston Terrier. While I've definitely been staying busy (and putting out EPs along the way), I have really missed making albums. Everything about this body of work is a culmination of those intervening years, from the subjects of the songs, to the incredibly talented people with whom I wrote them and recorded them. I cannot wait for you to hear it all. And holy smokes you can start TODAY! The first single, the title track "Avalanche," is out now! I wrote it with my amazing friend Madi Diaz, one of my most treasured collaborators. In addition to me and Josh Kaufman on the track, you'll hear the extremely satisfying Matt Barrick (of The Walkmen) on drums. This song, and the whole record, was engineered, mixed, and mastered by D. James Goodwin, and production assistance was provided by Gillian Pelkonen. Big thanks to Paste Magazine for premiering "Avalanche" this morning - what an honor! You can check out their write-up over HERE.

The album is now up for preorder, including some pretty dang sumptuous deep purple vinyl!  

Listen to "Avalanche"

Preorder Avalanche (U.S.)

Preorder Avalanche (International)

Watch the “Avalanche” visualizer below:

[speakspeak]

Timeless Cool: Walter Martin, Stewart Lupton, and Matt Barrick of Jonathan Fire* Eater

[sinceileftyoublog]

The Walkmen Live Show Review: 5/18, Metro, Chicago

BY JORDAN MAINZER

“It’s good to be back,” said Hamilton Leithauser in the middle of The Walkmen’s second show on a four-night run at Metro, in what’s surely been a triumphant return. “I don’t know what ‘back’ means, but we’re back right now,” he clarified. Of course, any time a band doesn’t really break up but takes an indefinite hiatus, and then announces a reunion (or revenge) tour, fans invariably consider the prospect of new music. Instead, right now, at least for the time being, The Walkmen are reflecting on a storied discography, revealing to crowds on a nightly basis where they started and how far they’ve come.

Entering the stage to little banter, perhaps The Walkmen wanted to show us that, indeed, they never really left. They certainly sounded like it, Leithauser’s twangy sneer and Matt Barrick’s chugging drums propelling “On the Water”, Paul Maroon’s angular stabs and Leithauser’s trademark screams lifting “In the New Year” to the heights at which it previously soared, the entire band blasting through “The Rat” like they had little time left on earth. But as the set went on, Leithauser’s contextualization of their songs surfaced the raw imperfections underneath the band that always dressed perfectly, like the debonair socialites of Aughts post-punk. (I’ll never forget a fall 2013 Walkmen show where Leithauser clarified the band bought all their clothes at Costco and Target.) The band formed in the early 2000′s in Harlem from the ashes of Jonathan Fire*Eater and The Recoys, and their back-to-back performances of “Little House of Savages” and “The Blizzard of ‘96″--meant for those previous bands, respectively--showcased how the two disparate sonic aspects of The Walkmen for so long have worked in tandem. That is, many of their best songs start with, simply, sheer blasts of instrumentation, like “The Rat” or “Little House of Savages”, but equally impressive are the plinking, jangly exercises in collegiate and urban nostalgia like “The Blizzard of ‘96″, “138th Street”, and “We’ve Been Had”, the last of which was the first song they ever wrote, Leithauser a ripe 21 “writing forlorn lyrics about being 19.”

Though the band prioritized their back catalog over strong later career albums like Lisbon and Heaven, I was glad to see them recognize the brilliance of a few more recent tracks. The first couple times I saw The Walkmen, they played songs from those records that had not yet been released, and hearing “Blue As Your Blood” and the anthemic “Heaven” took me back to my initial transfixation. Lisbon, especially, established a newfound emphasis on country-adjacent music, the most Leithauser’s ever sounded like a raspy Bob Dylan, songs like “Blue As Your Blood” carried by Maroon’s Spaghetti Western guitar plucks and Barrick’s galloping percussion. You could say such songs were foreshadowed by You & Me’s gorgeous “Red Moon” (“I prefer it without the horn section,” admitted Leithauser), but to me, Lisbon was the album where The Walkmen most successfully honed in on what made them tick. “This song took the longest to record of any Walkmen song ever,” said Leithauser introducing “Juveniles”, joking, “I don’t know why: It’s a simple song.” On the surface, “Juveniles” is simply, a gentle sway, but something about its clanging treble worms into your head, Leithauser’s chants of “You’re one of us or one of them” practically made for an audience to shout back.

When Leithauser told the crowd, “We didn’t know whether anybody would remember us,” it came at first as a shock. The Walkmen were one of the most critically acclaimed indie rock bands at a time when indie rock dominated the critical discourse, for better or for worse. Of course people would remember them! Thinking back, though, as the years passed since Heaven was released, maybe the band was simply stored in people’s memory banks, perhaps precisely because they never technically broke up or announced a big farewell, leaving a permanent-feeling void in their fans’ hearts. In essence, then, their entire set felt like scratching a giant itch you didn’t know you had. What a thrill it was to hear Peter Bauer’s mammoth basslines, and Walter Martin’s synths adding to the whirr and swirling noise of “All Hands And The Cook” and “Thinking Of A Dream I Had”, Maroon’s sharp tones, Barrick’s meaty, precise fills, and Leithauser’s desperate wail. We were “one of us” once again.

[the-hindu-times]

The Walkmen - London Mornington Crescent Koko - 30/8/23

On the same evening that revolving-door, alt-country Chicargo band, Wilco, were on at Kentish Town Forum, New York indie rockers, The Walkmen, were also across the pond, and just 5 minutes down the road in the middle of their hat trick of shows at Koko in Mornington Crescent. It's still as posh a venue as its previous title 'the Camden Palace' suggests, with sofas at the top of the venue complete with plug points, tables, and a seemingly private bar.

Hot Hot Heat's front man, Steve Bays, has always championed The Walkmen, as has Idlewild's Roddy Woomble, who had them support his band in their heyday. In fact, I believe that The Walkmen may have been first on when I saw Idlewild at Brixton Academy in 2002 but we only got into the venue in time to see main support, The Star Spangles.

Tonight, the favour would be returned as Roddy Woomble was the opener with his new outfit, Almost Nothing, and it would be my first time seeing and hearing The Walkmen, to my knowledge. For us, we hadn't even noticed the 10 year hiatus but would have enjoyed some of, drummer, Matt Barrick's work with Fleet Foxes and Phoebe Bridgers during that time.

With differing setlists, a great deal of tonight's show came from 2008's 'You & Me' and 2004's 'Bows + Arrows', with at least one song from all of their other albums. So, anyone who came for an extra helping tonight way well return again to complete the trilogy tomorrow.

Nic Bennett

[theftliabletoprosecution]

The long awaited return of the Walkmen is here with a stop in Chicago and four sold out shows at Metro Chicago May 17-20. Of all the things happening this Summer I'm probably most excited about this one.

Whether or not you can make a show or two there's quite a bit on their website and if you've been following the band this year you know they are very excited to be back together and hitting the road!

[eartapas]

"Ashes Are Ashes" is Dead Professional's melancholy new single, which features Matt Barrick of The Walkmen. The song marks Dead Professional's return after a lengthy layoff, during which the artist's voice and guitar-playing abilities were nearly lost due to a spinal cord injury. The incident galvanized Dead Professional's renewed commitment to prioritize music in their creative activities. "Ashes Are Ashes" expands the bounds of Dead Professional's previous work, venturing into new emotional and musical realms. The eerie, atmospheric production of the song, combined with the introspective lyrics, creates a sense of melancholy and meditation. Overall, "Ashes Are Ashes" is a dramatic and thoughtful track that demonstrates Dead Professional's artistic perseverance and growth.

[somekeepsakes]

Muzz - Red Western Sky (x)

[angelolsenwife]

no thoughts head empty, only fade into you cover by muzz

[midnight-log]

MUZZ

[jennyowenyoungs]

very excited to share a new song today! “someone’s ex” was recorded during the Avalanche sessions, but didn’t feel like it quite fit on the album. I decided to hold onto it until the time was right, and it turns out that the time is right right now! all these beautiful people helped out: co-written with Tom Peyton. produced by Josh Kaufman, who also played a ton of instruments. drums drummed drummily by Matt Barrick. engineered, mixed, and mastered by D. James Goodwin. production assistance by Gillian Pelkonen. cover photo by Josh Goleman.

listen here: ffm.to/someonesexsingle

[speakspeak]

Timeless Cool: The Walkmen, and their children

[soundchxck]

Muzz have shared their new EP featuring covers of Arthur Russell, Bob Dylan, Mazzy Star, and Tracy Chapman. Stream it now!

[brusiocostante]

The Walkmen - Wake Up [OFFICIAL AUDIO]

[soundslikesomethingdirty]

Muzz - "Knuckleduster" (Official Music Video)

[somekeepsakes]

Muzz - Knuckleduster (x)