American songwriter Hamilton Leithauser will release solo album ‘This Side Of The Island’ on March 7th.

The musician spent time on the road with The Walkmen, the seminal band’s re-union tour garnering huge plaudits. His solo catalogue contains real depth, and a visit to old friend Aaron Dessner‘s upstate Long Pond Studio in the spring of 2024 unlocked this new batch of songs.

Produced by Hamilton, working alongside Aaron Dessner and Hamilton’s wife, Anna Stumpf, the record stays true to the essential catalogue of the songwriter’s work, while being unafraid to tackle different aspects.

New single ‘Knockin’ Heart’ has a real sense of melodic immediacy to it, and the song acted as a fulcrum for the record as a whole.

Hamilton Leithauser comments…

‘Knockin’ Heart’ is sung by an estranged, stoned lover on their way home, who is dying to get a message through to someone who is probably not listening. It is ‘I will love you for life if you’ll let me.’ I wrote and recorded it one evening and put it away for over a year. I knew I liked it, and I didn’t want to mess anything up by trying to perfect it.

It was the last song I played for Aaron when we got together, and the first song he helped me work on. I’d say he raised the ceiling and lowered the floor on the entire thing sonically. He actually used a funny bass technique he said he’d used on a Taylor Swift song, which I got a kick out of. I gotta say his bass sounds fantastic. Now there are three basses on it! One of mine and two of his. That is a first for me.

Catch Hamilton Leithauser at London’s EartH on February 17th; check out ‘Knockin’ Heart’ below.

Pre-order ‘This Side Of The Island’ online now.