BY ZACHARY HERRMANN

Not quite midway through The Walkmen's Wednesday show at Philly's Theatre of Living Arts (TLA), a couple near the stage started slow dancing, lips soon to be locked. On most concert going occasions, it'd be enough to inspire gags or catcalls. But public displays of affection

TLA's refurbished digs (hardwood floors, chandeliers and red draping thanks to Live Nation, no doubt) has given the place a sort of classic prom-y feeling. But it was The Walkmen's hopeless romanticism that sealed the deal, channeling The Drifters and Leonard Cohen in one fell swoop.

For those just tuning in, The Walkmen is a changed band in numerous ways.  The group now tours regularly with a four-piece horn section (one of whom is lead singer Hamilton Leithauser's wife), reflecting the sonic shift and maturation The Walkmen made on last year's seminal release, You & Me.

The slow dancing song in question is one of several new tunes the band broke out, all but one slowly paced and featuring Leithauser on acoustic guitar. Currently, The Walkmen are in the middle of recording a new album, which, according to organist (and sometimes bassist) Peter Bauer, should hit streets by June 2010.

Though it's unclear how exactly the album will shape up, Bauer admits at least thus far, the new album is "very quiet."

"Right now, it is a slow one," Bauer said. "And it sort of works that way."

"I think it just sort of depends what the last five songs are. If we could write some big, fast songs, maybe they would fit. Or maybe they would just sound stupid. We don't know yet what the end result will be."

As a live outfit, The Walkmen really do have a split dynamic. The guys still know how to bang it out, especially on the Bows + Arrows standouts, "The Rat" and "Little House of Savages". But with the fuller band compositions, they have become much more even-tempered. Less angst, though still spirited as ever.

A large part of this shift comes from Leithauser's development as vocalist. Over the years, he has honed his high-pitched, Bob Dylan wale into a much more powerful variation on the same idea. He's always had a cool voice - now he's got a great one.

At times, it comes out as a falsetto croon ("I Lost You"), at others, as something far more aggressive or foreboding ("All Hands and the Cook"). Like the band it fronts, the voice can be lovely or piercing, depending on how Leithauser chooses the wield it.

Overcoming the shoddy sound at the TLA is always an uphill battle. However, the horns came in loud and clear when they first showed up for "Louisiana", the fantastic opener off of the most bizarre of The Walkmen's LPs, A Hundred Miles off (Bauer described parts of the album as "shithouse crazy").

Though never showy, The Walkmen members are all pretty impressive, or at least inventive instrumentalists. Matt Barrick goes completely Animal-"Wipe Out" on his drum set, and Paul Maroon's rackety, reverb heavy sound is still very much a part of the signature sound the band has developed.

Walter Martin (bass, originally organist) plays organ on the old songs, though he and Bauer have switched instruments for the most part. It's a subtle change the band made before A Hundred Miles Off, but one that has definitely paid off from You & Me on.

"I don't know how to play piano so it takes a while and it's sort of frustrating because everyone else in the band plays the same instrument and has played it for like 30 years," Bauer mused. "So it's fun, but confusing."

If Martin is in fact the more classically trained or accomplished organist, The Walkmen haven't been any weaker for the switch. The organ riff driving "In The New Year" (perhaps broken out a tad early in the set as the second song) is inspired to say the least - yearning and heartfelt, and in concert, downright uplifting.

That's The Walkmen for you, though. With "We've Been Had" (not in the setlist, presumably due to the lack of a grand piano on hand these days) - the band's first great song - Leithauser perfectly captured the letdown of post-adolescence. Nothing they could do could diminish the power of songs like that or "The Rat", and these songs still ring true, maybe now more than ever.

Life, though, has seemed to slow down for The Walkmen. It's just a joy to be there to watch and listen as they tell you how it is.

[Photo Credit: Rob Levin]