When The Walkmen first crowded in around All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen’s desk, I wasn’t sure if their booming sound and raspy yelps would really translate into an intimate performance. I was wrong –they could play these tunes anywhere.
In this installment of the Tiny Desk Concert series, Hamilton Leithauser’s powerful voice fills the NPR Music offices with three songs; the rousing title track of their seventh album Heaven, the warmly layered "We Can't Be Beat," and the gentle "Love Is Luck."
The tracks are anything but diluted—the acoustic guitar really works to accentuate the tenderness here. Though this is a far cry from the sandpapery grit of Bows+Arrows, there’s still plenty of world-weary heartache to be had.
You can download the audio of these beautiful live renditions here.