The Walkmen frontman Hamilton Leithauser has shared a new solo single ‘This Side Of The Island’, and announced a run of intimate live shows.
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The anthemic track serves as the first preview of the singer-songwriter’s upcoming EP, which is expected to arrive at some point next year.
Co-produced by Leithauser, Aaron Dessner (The National) and his wife Anna Stumpf, the reflective and bittersweet song showcases the artist’s “unrelenting optimism and biting humour amongst a polarised social and political world”.
“This Side Of The Island’ is a song about disillusionment, acceptance and resolve,” he explained.
“The foundation of the far lower east side of Manhattan where I used to live was actually constructed out of garbage from the 1600s all the way up to the 1970s – a decent metaphor for the fundamentally-flawed relationship I was in when I lived there; and more broadly, for the modern collective identity of the United States.”
Leithauser continued: “In the last decade, I think our country has more publicly and flagrantly revealed its true colours – an ugly side that was always there, but has now transformed our mainstream character. But there are still great people, great ideas, and great accomplishments all around us, and it is important not to lose sight of that.
“Sometimes when I see what I consider to be things barrelling in the wrong direction, I feel totally helpless. But I am an optimist, and while I might not have any grand solutions (yet!), no matter what happens, as long as I’m breathing, I can still sing ‘I just want you to love me the way I love you‘. I don’t know if that’s a lot or a little, but I do know it’s true.”
Listen to ‘This Side Of The Island’ above.
Leithauser, whose latest solo album ‘The Loves Of Your Life’ arrived in 2020, is set to play a run of intimate gigs in early 2025 – including a performance at EartH in London. Other dates are scheduled for Los Angeles, Toronto and Chicago.
Tickets go on general sale at 10am local time this Friday (December 13). You’ll be able to buy yours here (London) and here (US). Alternatively, fans can access a pre-sale at the same time tomorrow (Wednesday December 11) by signing up here.
Hamilton Leithauser’s 2024/2025 tour dates are:
DECEMBER 2024
11 – Howards Bar & Club, Austin, TX (SOLD OUT)
12 – Howards Bar & Club, Austin, TX (SOLD OUT)
FEBRUARY 2025
11 – Largo at The Coronet, Los Angeles, CA
12 – Largo at The Coronet, Los Angeles, CA
17 – EartH, London
25 – The Drake Hotel, Toronto, ON
26 – The Drake Hotel, Toronto, ON
28 – Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago, IL
MARCH 2025
01 – Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago, IL
Last year saw The Walkmen embark on a reunion tour, marking their first dates together in almost a decade. The stint saw the band perform at All Points East in London, and play three headline gigs at KOKO in the capital.
In a five-star review of the group’s homecoming show in New York City in April 2023, NME wrote: “Leithauser delivers every line with gusto, and the crowd responds in kind.
“By the time the main set draws to a close with a goosebumps-inducing rendition of 2012 favourite ‘Heaven’ it’s clear The Walkmen are more than worthy of being in the ring again.”
