If New York is a scene again, then the Walkmen are the Television to the Strokes' VU. Just kidding. Well, sort of. The Walkmen are musically sound. Their diverse bag of influences seems to stem from the same record collection the Strokes had (aka VU, Stooges, Television, Pixies) but throw in a little Radiohead, possibly U2 and more of a leaning to 80s pop than 70s raw. But there are definitely twists to keep it interesting. And while we're talking about influences - who cares if a band is derivative? Hey, we're all Post Modernists here, right? There is no originality in rock (there is innovation). Everybody takes what the last guy did and tries to make it better. The Walkmen, like the Strokes, succeed where many, many others fail.