Hamilton Leithauser was “spent on words.” In an interview with Apple Music, he said he didn’t know what he wanted to sing, he just knew he wanted to.
After writing collaborative LPs with Rostam and former Walkmen bandmate Paul Maroon, perfecting 2016’s I Had a Dream That You Were Mine and creating Dear God, an album only available on vinyl, he felt like he had nothing left to give.
That’s when he started creating melodies for his second solo album, The Loves of Your Life. He could hear the tracks, but it wasn’t until a ferry ride with his daughters where he met a strange man that he decided every song should be filled with character sketches of strangers and friends.
These character sketches were converted into the album and created not only some very interesting stories, but Leithauser’s best project to date.
The Loves of Your Life paints a beautiful picture of the intimate, unassuming factors of love in a person’s life. Each piece was written about a specific person and the album begs to be chosen as a film soundtrack. Its atmospheric nature creates a perfect background for virtually every occasion by walking the thin line between tracks for night drives, warm summer days, cold winter nights, great romantic moments or simply bonding with friends.
Leithauser starts the album off strong with the brilliancy of “The Garbage Men,” featuring a slow drum beat, complex instrumentation with simple rhythms and even vocals from his daughters that were pitch-shifted. He quickly moves through the album with dreamy and relaxing “Isabella,” featuring vocals from his daughters’ preschool teacher, Lacrisha Brown, whose vocals can be found on several different tracks throughout the album.
The uplifting, coming-of-age sound from the first two tracks are quickly halted by the more serious and daring track “Here They Come,” but quickly finds its way back to the original motif with the ever-changing rhythms of “Cross-Sound Ferry (Walk-On Ticket).” Where the album lulls a little is with “Don’t Check the Score,” which was one of the album’s pre-released singles, followed by “Til Your Ship Comes in.” However, even Leithauser’s lull in the album still showcases tracks that surpass most artists’ peak songs.
One of the real gems of the album comes from Leithauser’s “The Stars of Tomorrow,” which features a beautiful melody and his signature wailing vocals telling the story of a woman he met on the beach who told him her entire life story. It’s juxtaposed by the following track, “Wack Jack,” which is another one of the album’s best. It tells the story of a nasty breakup, being stuck on the person and trying to take parts of life lightly when the older you get, everything becomes harder. “In this context, it would be referring to the hold that somebody might have on you, that you kind of wish you could shake it. Maybe you can’t,” Leithauser said in his interview with Apple Music.
The album’s serene wind-down is complete with “Stars & Rats,” a tale of going home and how it makes Leithauser feel, and the romantic and passionate sounds of “The Other Half.” Finally the album comes to a close with arguably the best track of the entire project, “The Old King.” The track features more of his daughters’ vocals and bring what Leithauser feels is a triumphant sound by the end.
Every track is loosely applicable to someone you’ve met or know personally in your life. The passion and brilliance radiate through every track, reigniting Leithauser’s loss for words. More than anything, there’s bound to be a song on the album to act as the perfect soundtrack to your life, whatever emotion, event or relationship you’re experiencing, The Loves of Your Life will take you on an incredible journey that you won’t want to come back from.
