Four of the five band members have reappeared as solo artists after their “extreme hiatus” announced in 2013, but it is frontman Hamilton Leithauser who has deviated least from the Walkmen’s distinctive brand of atmospheric indie. Black Hours (2014) marked a seamless transition into his solo career, and his excellent 2016 collaboration with sometime Vampire Weekend guitarist Rostam Batmanglij wasn’t much of a stylistic departure either. But The Loves of Your Life finds him shifting closer to balladry and the Sinatra-style crooning that was always an arresting subplot of the Walkmen’s oeuvre.
It’s an intimate, thoughtful collection, with Leithauser self-producing and playing most of the instruments himself, with backing vocals from his wife and daughters. The songs themselves tell the stories of some of the people he knows or has met. From the woman leaving her relationship on The Stars of Tomorrow (“Well he can have the pool and the cars/ But I’m taking this Ford and a couple of credit cards”) to the singer with more charisma than talent (the affecting Stars & Rats), these are poignant portraits, with echoes of Springsteen’s chronicles of ordinary lives and everyday struggles. Throughout, Leithauser performs with his customary passion, and this marks a pleasing new direction for a singular talent.