The Walkmen have come a long way since their first album more than six years ago, and it’s been two years since their last effort—but You & Me was worth the wait. While their tunes still have that feeling of off-kilter carnival music, this time around they’re playing with a new confidence. Hamilton Leithauser’s voice dances and skips across the jangly landscape as he channels Tom Waits’s growl into a post-millennial howl. The music has an atmosphere that is both haunting and languid, like heat waves off the blacktop. There’s a sense here of not being in a hurry; the songs feel like they’re being created as you listen. The Walkmen create a feverish tableau full of ghosts, flashes of color, and forgotten hopes. You & Me is the group’s masterpiece—substantive, engaging, and sublime. No more proof is needed that the Walkmen should be lauded as indie-rock royalty.