You might remember The Walkmen as the group responsible for "We've Been Had," a major artistic achievement and minor hit from the band's breakthrough record, 2002's Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone. The infectious song was the highlight of the otherwise middling Everyone, but now The Walkmen is back with another record set to prove the band can make a name for itself in the crowded world of gloomy NYC indie-rock.

Is Bows and Arrows a success? Not surprisingly, yes. By building on the triumph of "We've Been Had," The Walkmen's new record has no interest in staying in one place; in fact, it's pretty much an entire album of very different songs just as good as "We've Been Had," devoid perhaps only of that tune's killer chorus. With frenetic rockers bumping heads with atmospheric ballads, The Walkmen has hit its groove with Bows and Arrows. If only it'd happened a bit sooner.

Mixing the jazz-rock of Broken Social Scene with a murky, Smiths-esque vibe and a lyrical wit uncommon to the downtown NYC scene, Bows and Arrows is engaging from start to finish. With its great pop sense and a newfound instrumental confidence, Bows and Arrows is 43 minutes of everything under the sun. Singer Walter Martin's soaring vocal stylings drive every song to new heights, and the band emerges with one of the more distinctive sounds in recent memory.

Provided, this is indie-rock, not dance-pop, and this music isn't for everyone. But with Bows and Arrows, The Walkmen turns its previous work on its head, turning a little bit of promise into a genre-defying gem.

-- Reviewed by Paul Thompson