Hamilton Leithauser is releasing his new album This Side Of The Island in a month and has this week shared the single from it, “Burn The Boats”. He says:
“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’.”
“Burn The Boats” possesses a psychedelc swagger that we don’t often hear from The Walkmen vocalist – the influences mentioned above (Funkadelic, Bowie) can certainly be heard – as well as the lush instrumental choices of co-producer Aaron Dessner. The song is all Leithauser though, with the characteristic vocalist describing the boring party scene with his acerbic style, before turning his pen on himself and admitting his own impatience and over-confidence. It all makes for a charming package – accentuated by the “doo doo doo” backign vocals – that it’d be hard for anyone to resist.
Listen to “Burn The Boats” below or find it on your preferred streamer.
Hamilton Leithauser’s new album This Side Of The Island arrives on 7 March through Glassnote (pre-order/save). You can find him on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Facebook.
Live dates:
FEBRUARY
10th – Los Angeles, CA, Largo at The Coronet
11th – Los Angeles, CA, Largo at The Coronet (SOLD OUT)
12th – Los Angeles, CA, Largo at The Coronet (SOLD OUT)
17th – London, EartH
25th – Toronto, ON, The Drake Hotel (SOLD OUT)
26th – Toronto, ON, The Drake Hotel (SOLD OUT)
28th – Chicago, IL, Old Town School of Folk Music (SOLD OUT)
MARCH
1st – Chicago, IL, Old Town School of Folk Music (SOLD OUT)
6th – New York, NY, Café Carlyle
7th – New York, NY, Café Carlyle
8th – New York, NY, Café Carlyle
12th – New York, NY, Café Carlyle
13th – New York, NY, Café Carlyle
14th – New York, NY, Café Carlyle
15th – New York, NY, Café Carlyle
19th – New York, NY, Café Carlyle
20th – New York, NY, Café Carlyle
21st – New York, NY, Café Carlyle
22nd – New York, NY, Café Carlyle
26th – New York, NY, Café Carlyle
27th – New York, NY, Café Carlyle
28th – New York, NY, Café Carlyle
29th – New York, NY, Café Carlyle
JULY
18th – St. Paul, MN, Minnesota Yacht Club Festival
