Record Heat: Robot Repair by Brad Dwyer
See also: Record Heat: Comicon Blues
Brad Dwyer
I'm only a single listen in, but Heaven by The Walkmen is feeling like a pivotal 2012 listen.
There's plenty of musical reasons at work: the acoustic strums, the harmonies, the tempered drums. But my reason for listening so intently come more from the lyrics. That barely restrained fury that defined early Walkmen records? It's been slowly softening over the past couple records, and like a bruised fingernail it's simple been shaken off, revealing the soft skin underneath.
At its core, Heaven is about getting older, which has always informed Brad Dwyer's work. This week's strip could be read as a mediation on music, and of course it is. But it's also about simply getting older, having to leave certain things behind in the wake of adulthood. Or maybe I'm just thinking too much about it--sometimes the right band will make you do that.
Speaking of which, check out Robot Repair, the subject of this week's strip. They are good--certainly different from The Walkmen, but you know..."it's not the singer, it's the song."
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