Hamilton Leithauser, frontman of the Walkmen, has one of the greatest singing voices in all of indie rock, a suave but ragged croon that he can inflate into an anthemic wail whenever he gets ahold of a big chorus. The Walkmen make great use of that voice, but Leithauser seems to be wondering what else he can do with it. Right now, he’s at work in Vox Studios, in Los Angeles, with an absolutely murderous band of freelancers, putting together a solo album.

Pitchfork reports that Leithauser’s backing band includes Vampire Weekend co-leader Rostam Batmanglij, Shins multi-instrumentalist Richard Swift, Fleet Foxes/Cave Singers member Morgan Henderson, and Walkmen guitarist and pianist Paul Maroon. The album is tentatively due next spring, and I can’t wait.

[photo by wagz2it @ Bowery Ballroom]