Walkmen frontmen Hamilton Leithauser says he worked on new solo album This Side Of The Island for eight years, meaning it dates back to right after his great Rostam collaboration I Had A Dream That You Were Mine, well before the Walkmen reunion and even Leithauser's 2020 LP The Loves Of Your Life. However, today's new single "Burn The Boats" — which follows the title track and "Knockin' Heart" — was finished less than a year ago.
Here's what Leithauser says about the song:
I finished this song in the spring of 2024, and then in the summer my friend sent me a link to a Joe Rogan event called "Burn the Boats." At first I thought, "Oh fuck. Aw shit. Oh fuck this shit!!!," but then I listened to Joe Rogan’s podcast for the first time, and I learned that he has absolutely no idea what he is talking about and I don’t care about his nonsense. My song is about being at a party, falling in love with someone, and deciding you want nothing more than to go home with them. At the same time, the party’s now kinda boring, and you’d really like to speed up the process. "I wanna go home!’ Who can’t relate to that? I wrote a backup line for my friend Lachrisha, which was definitely inspired by Funkadelic, and the guitar playing was definitely inspired by David Bowie’s Low.
You can hear those influences, as well as maybe "Walk On The Wild Side," in the vocal interplay of "Burn The Boats." Listen below.
This Side Of The Island is out 3/7 on Glassnote.
