Hamilton Leithauser Announces New Album
Hamilton Leithauser has unveiled his upcoming solo album, This Side of the Island, set to release on March 7 via Glassnote.
Collaboration and Production Details
The album was produced by Leithauser in collaboration with his wife Anna and Aaron Dessner from The National, who also features on the album. After sharing the title track in December, Leithauser has now released a new single called “Knockin’ Heart.”
“I worked on this for eight years… yes, 8. Barack Obama was president when I recorded the piano for the first song 😬. I basically wrote and recorded it in my home studio, and the entire record is produced by me and my wife Anna, with seven songs also produced by my friend, the amazing Aaron Dessner,” says Leithauser. “To be honest, after working with Aaron, I remixed the other two based on his input, so his fingerprints are really all over it! I can’t thank Anna and Aaron enough for their input; I couldn’t have finished without them. I’ve been trading ideas with Anna for 8 years and I know I drove her crazy. When I finally got to the point where I didn’t know what the end would be, and I think maybe Anna was thinking about throwing me out of the house, last spring I drove upstate to visit Aaron at his beautiful Long Pond Studios. We listened to all the songs and he immediately came up with clear and supportive ideas that ultimately carried the record to the finish line.”
Insights on “Knockin’ Heart”
Speaking about “Knockin’ Heart,” Leithauser explains, “I started out thinking I wanted to write a power trio song like Nirvana. This is an aloof, stoned lover eager to convey a message to someone who probably isn’t listening. It’s ‘I’ll love you all my life if you let me.’ There are three basses on it… one of mine and two of Aaron’s. (His idea… and a great one, to be honest, because the bass is amazing.) It was written quickly, and the lyrics depict lifelong love, across time and space. I hope you give it a try.”
