Walkmen

Having known each other since forever, it's no surprise that the Walkmen make intensely intimate music. Featuring ex-members of the semi-hyped band Jonathan Fire*Eater, they sound utterly singular while waxing familiar, like forgotten words on the tip of the tongue. 2002's sleepy Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone had the right dab of rough around its edges to stand ears at attention, at times hesitant, other times haunting. Amidst down-tempo, upbeat rock songs, its centerpiece was an old upright piano and a singer who charmingly resembled Bono with a cold. Last year's auspicious Bows and Arrows was wound tighter than Condoleeza Rice, ripening and enriching the ambling rhythms of Everyone, from the insistent snarls of "The Rat" to the Pogues-ish "Hang on Siobhan." The ante was upped, critical hyperbole oozed, and the big time was neared. Now the band has enough hipster cachet to do things like guest star on The OC and play Letterman.

The Walkmen watch too much TV.

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More About

• Condoleezza Rice
• Bono (Musician)
• The Walkmen
• The Pogues

The Walkmen play at 11 p.m Friday, February 18, at Soho Lounge, 175 NE 36th St., Miami. Modernage opens. Tickets are free, and it's an 18-and-over show. Call 305-576-1988.