Tag Archives: The Walkmen

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Hamilton Leithauser goes solo: Alexandra (video)

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If their show earlier this month in New Orleans was indeed their last – they previously announced a hiatus – it seems to me that the Walkmen went out on their own terms and still in prime form.

Still, I wasn’t expecting something Walkmen-related so soon. But a solo venture from singer Hamilton Leithauser is officially underway. His album, Black Hours, is due out May 6 on Ribbon Music.

On this first single, “Alexandra” (co-written and produced by Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend), Leithauser’s voice sounds warmly familiar – all throaty/boozy and slightly imperfect. He tells NME that Sinatra inspired the new album, so the video’s loosened-tie, lounge-singer vibe makes sense (even that album cover recalls something in the Blue Note vein).

Pre-order Black Hours here and check the tracklisting below.

5 AM
The Silent Orchestra
Alexandra
11 O’Clock Friday Night
St Mary’s County
Self Pity
I Retired
I Don’t Need Anyone
Bless Your Heart
The Smallest Splinter
Waltz (deluxe edition)
In Our Time (I’ll Always Love You) (deluxe edition)
Utrecht (deluxe edition)
I’ll Never Love Again (deluxe edition)

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Ex-Mazarin frontman Quentin Stoltzfus recruits the Walkmen for new project Light Heat

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Quentin Stoltzfus

It’s been a long time – too long – since I’ve mentioned Mazarin’s name on this blog. To be exact, it’s been more than six years. That was in November 2006, when Mazarin was forced to retire its name because of a cease and desist order by an attorney hired by another band with the same name. Long story short: Mazarin retired its name and, worse, retired as a band, playing a final show in December 2006 in its hometown of Philadelphia.

It was a shame for Mazarin to endure such an abrupt ending; the 2005 album We’re Already There is a wondrous piece of pysch-pop. The Walkmen thought enough of the album to cover one of the songs, “Another One Goes By,” and include it on their 2006 album A Hundred Miles Off.

Here we are in 2013, and that synergism has come full circle. Mazarin frontman Quentin Stoltzfus has resurfaced for a new project called Light Heat, and he’s backed by Walkmen members Paul Maroon, Matt Barrick, Peter Bauer and Walter Martin. Spin premiered a new track, “The Mirror,” and instantly you can feel the influence of Barrick’s pulsating drums. This pairing is a very welcome development.

Light Heat’s self-titled debut album will be released via Ribbon Music on June 25.

Check out two tracks below.

Light Heat: The Mirror

Light Heat: And the Birds…