Occasionally, that speaking drawl gets chopped up into much more rapid, excitable bits, as when Leithauser’s discussing his new record. Being the singer and one of the primary songwriters for the Walkmen, Leithauser is at an automatic advantage and disadvantage. His solo debut will easily be the most visible of any of them, but it will also be the most difficult for him to carve out an identity wholly separate from his old gig. It’s still his voice, after all. To that end, he’s made careful decisions as to avoid any chance of if it coming off as Walkman-esque. Two songs were cut because of this, one a guitar-driven rocker and another a “slow waltz with big horns,” that Bauer loved but immediately warned him that he’d soon have to field comparisons to the Walkmen if he included it on his album.

Maroon describes Leithauser’s album as “Half orchestral, half rock ’n’ roll,” a split that’s readily evident in the two songs Leithauser plays me through those studio headphones. The first — which will probably be called “Alexandra,” for the repeated evocation of the name in the chorus — is an uptempo, almost exultantly Wall Of Sound-ish track full of horn blasts and jaunty ’60s pop piano. It travels in brighter territory than most Walkmen material save maybe select tracks off Heaven, and is likely the first single. The other is fully-committed orchestral pop, a slower, atmospheric number based entirely on piano, stand-up bass, and noir-ish string swells. In the lead-up to Heaven, Leithauser had spoken of how Frank Sinatra’s vocal phrasing had lately been an influence for him. Here, that inspiration has fully bloomed. He even used half a year’s salary to purchase the same vintage Neumann U47 mic Sinatra used.

While much of the Walkmen’s music made use of horns and strings, Leithauser’s new music is completely reliant on it, to the point that he has no idea yet how he will be able to take it on the road. What’s more, his band is diffuse — spread out between New York, Portland, and Seattle — and otherwise committed — spread out between the Shins, Fleet Foxes, and Vampire Weekend, who will likely just be finishing their tour as Leithauser’s about ready to get started on his own. Still, none of this seems to be weighing on him at this moment. Each possible roadblock is described through a full grin. He’s excited by the challenge.

BUMP



Man, there has been a tragic lack of discussion for this band. I blame myself.

Anyway, thought I'd bump to mention the new Ham album. It's fucking great, just like all the Walkmen stuff and all his other solo offerings. This one's got more of a rough-around-the-edges, singer-songwritery vibe to it than the other two. His record with Rostam was really an exercise in tight arrangements and this is a bit more ramshackle in approach, probably owing to the fact that he basically played all the instruments himself and recorded in his home studio.

The Garbage Men, Isabella and Stars & Rats are early highlights for me.