Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam Announce New Album I Had A Dream That You Were Mine For September 2016 Release

Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij and The Walkmen’s Hamilton Leithauser have announced new album, I Had a Dream That You Were Mine, under their collaborative project Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam. Their debut LP will be released September 23^rd through Glassnote.

Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam’s first LP marks Leithauser’s second and Batmanglij’s first studio LP following their respective departures from acclaimed groups. Batmanglij departed Vampire Weekend earlier this year, while Leithauser’s The Walkmen went on official hiatus following their most recent LP, 2012’s Heaven.

The new album’s sole feature is Dirty Projectors member Angel Doordorian. Batmanglij will likely handle the majority of the album’s studio instrumentation himself, while Leithauser will play guitar and sing lead vocals.

The duo originally met in March 2008, when a Batmanglij’s fledgling Vampire Weekend opened for Leithauser’s The Walkmen. Leithauser and Batmanglij eventually met up years later, with Batmanglij contributing to two songs on Leithauser’s debut solo LP, Black Hours.

In addition to announcing their new album, the duo shared their second single, “In Black Out”, to coincide with the announcement. Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam released their first single, “A 1000 Times”, back in July.

Unlike “A 1000 Times”, “In a Black Out’s” production successfully merges the varying production styles of Leithauser and Bantmanglij. Despite its overall strength, “A 1000 Times” was a clearly Leithauser dominated track, baring little signs of Batmanglij’s own stylistic input.

Their new single captures the singular talents of each artist, with Leithauser’s vocals soaring above darkened, but clearly recognizable, Batmanglij instrumentation. The track’s furious acoustic guitar (its unknown which musician plays guitar on the single) carries the song, while Batmanglij’s percussion interludes heighten its overall weight. Intentional or not, the track evokes Max Richter’s theme for HBO show, The Leftovers, conveying tremendous emotion through ethereal, yet minimalist instrumentation.

Listen to In a Black Out below, and find the tracklist and cover artwork for I Had a Dream That You Were Mine there as well.

I Had A Dream That You Were Mine

01. A 1000 Times
02. Sick as a Dog
03. Rough Going (I Don’t Let Up)
04. In a Black Out
05. Peaceful Morning
06. When The Truth Is…
07. You Ain’t That Young Kid
08. The Bride’s Dad
09. The Morning Stars
10. 1959 [ft. Angel Deradoorian]