Heaven

Audio Mixer: Phil Ek.
Recording information: Avast Studios, Seattle, WA; Bear Creek Studios.
Photographer: Arno Frugier.
After the slow-motion travelogue that was Lisbon, the Walkmen return with Heaven, a somewhat ironically titled album that also happens to be the band's most polished, positive set of songs. The Walkmen celebrated their tenth anniversary as a band while recording the album with Phil Ek, and beyond the producer's famously meticulous sound, there's a contented maturity to the title track -- which feels like a grown-up version of earlier rockers like "The Rat" -- and "Heartbreaker" that suggests the Walkmen were in a very good place (if not exactly heaven) when they recorded these songs.