Every Monday, 88Nine music director Erin Wolf shares a sonic gem she found using her nearly 20 years of new-music exploration experience. You can hear all her discoveries at 2 p.m. every Sunday on What’s All This: Adventures in New Music.
Hamilton Leithauser (of The Walkmen fame) returns with new solo material right when there are hotly contested rumors that a new Walkmen record might be on the way. As the voice of that band, Leithauser has always had his own extra flair on solo material — less post-rock and more Harry Nilsson, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen in persuasion. It’s been really fun seeing him saunter into his personally constructed spotlight over the years.
Along with new single “This Side of the Island,” Leithauser announced a new album that’s been eight years in the making and will arrive five years after his last effort, The Loves of Your Life. Apparently, what’s first is last in this case, as this single was the final song he wrote for the upcoming record.
Co-produced with his wife, Ana Stumpf and The National guitarist Aaron Dessner, Leithauser shared that “This Side of the Island” is about “disillusionment, acceptance and resolve,” and was inspired by living on the far Lower East Side of Manhattan, where the foundation of the city was literally built out of city garbage.
It sounds like more real talk from Leithauser is in store, but in the meantime you can find the new single out on Glassnote Records, with the full record to follow in 2025. You can also hear it on the latest episode of What’s All This by using the player at the top of this page, and make sure you’re back for another batch of tunes every Sunday at 2 p.m. on 88Nine.
Best new indie music this week
- Sky Ferreira, "Leash"
- Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, “Southern Life (What It Must Be Like)”
- Deradoorian, “Digital Gravestone”
- M. Byrd, “One Way or the Other”
- Bonnie “Prince” Billy, “London May”
- Yo La Tengo, “Leaving Home”
- Kelly Finnigan, “It Hurts Me So Much”
- Arima Ederra, “Oh God (ft. Mereba)”
- Hamilton Leithauser, “This Side of the Island”
- Advance Base, “The Tooth Fairy”
- Ralph Castelli, “Why Are You So Uptight?”
- Denison Witmer, “Focus Ring (ft. Sufjan Stevens)”
