November 8, 2010

The Recoys - "Shake Off Your Nerve"

When talking about the origins of The Walkmen, people often mention Paul Maroon, Walter Martin and Matt Barrick's previous group Jonathan Fire*Eater as an important source of musical style and sensibility. But Hamilton Leithauser and Peter Bauer were also in a band together, The Recoys, and while they didn't garner the major label attention lavished on Jonathan Fire*Eater, they did record a small but saavy collection of swinging and inspired rock and roll tunes. The group's out of print EP and a collection of songs destined for a future unfinished LP were released together for the Rekoys—a must have for serious Walkmen fans. You'll notice three Recoys' songs—"That's the Punchline," "The Blizzard of '93," and "Look Out Your Window"—were adapted and rerecorded by The Walkmen for Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone and the Calla/Walkmen split EP. Leithauser's distinct vocal posturing and rasp is certainly present on the harmonica blazing "Shake Off Your Nerve," another song that (sans harmonica) would fit neatly into The Walkmen catalogue.

The Recoys - "Shake Off Your Nerve" (from Rekoys)

Rekoys - The Recoys

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