Song(s) of the Day # 2,271 Hamilton Leithauser

Hamilton Leithauser, once lead singer of New York mavericks The Walkmen releases his third album, The Loves of Your Life,  at a rather innoportune moment. Like almost everything he's ever been involved with it's impeccably tasteful, vaguely retro, achingly yearning and clearly deeply thought through.

The Walkmen were the most unappreciated of bands. I saw them in New York in a small venue in 2001 supporting Interpol and thought them much better than the headliners. They played a vaudeville set that made me think of Brecht and Weil for some reason and the atmosphere they evoked that night still echoes down to me across the years. I hear reminders of that gig scattered across the tracks of The Loves of Your Life. It hints at the oddest and most painful kind of nostalgia, like leafing through old photo albums and trying to piece together the way you were feeling when particular pictures. A vain pursuit at the best of times.

Leithauser's lyrics are reassuringly considered, the playing always slightly out of key in the way that Tom Waits records always are. There's an 'enjoy yourself, it's later than you think', vibe throughout. It's ironic that Leithauser's record comes out on the same day as the new one from The Strokes, one I'll get to presently. They were the indisputable kings of that scene and now everyone involved finds themselves encased in early middle age wondering what has happened to the years. Don't we all?

Leithauser embodies a bruised and wasted elegance. This is another fine record to slot among the many others he's been a part of over the years. Like the characters of Midnight Cowboy, this is an album that finds itself in New York City but wishes it were in Florida. Maybe it will make it there once this lockdown finally lifts. It's not a classic but it it is a solid, textured record that passed in the blink of an eye when I listened to ot first time through. It saves its best 'til last. The final track , The Old King, is an instant classic that you should hear if you can, complete with child choir. As for the album as a whole, there's more than enough here to make me sure to return and make its acquaintance better.