When Hamilton Leithauser kicks back in that trademark half-tilt to belt out towering vocals that combine the dusty swagger of Dylan with the swoon of Sinatra, the results can light up a room like lightning (quite literally? see above) and turn everyone in attendance into starry-eyed fans. I’m speaking from experience: while the past few albums from his band, The Walkmen, haven’t knocked me off my feet, I’ve still rather enjoyed listening to them. However, they’ve not lived up to the promise of the band’s stellar first and second records; or, perhaps most importantly, their rousing live shows. After all, in concert is truly where this band excels.

Word is the new album - You & Me, due out on August 19th on Gigantic Records - is going to bring all that Walkmen concert goodness back to the forefront and then some. Want proof? We’ve got it in a new track, called “In The New Year”, posted below. The sound, and feeling, of the song finds the band back in familiar territory of loosely tight-knit anguished intensity that comes across so well in person. And to better capture their live show lightning in a bottle, The Walkmen recorded the vocals for the track in the same room as the band. Which makes the lyric “It’s louder than lightning in this room of mine” all the more obvious.

Had enough of the lightning imagery yet? No? Then download the track below, make your own room louder than lightning, and check out the updated tour dates below to see when you might have a chance to see the band live in your neck of the woods. Just beware of standing under high trees. They’ve been known to attract… lightning!

Listen: “In The New Year”

See The Walkmen live:
18 Aug - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom, New York
19 Aug - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom, New York
21 Aug - Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
22 Aug - Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
23 Aug - San Francisco @ Outside Lands Festival
27 Aug - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
28 Aug - Vancouver, BC @ Richards on Richard, Vancouver (co-bill w/ Man Man)
29 Aug - Victoria, BC @ Rifflandia Festival, Victoria (Black Mountain, Destroyer, etc.)
30 Aug - Seattle, WA @ Bumbershoot Festival
6 Sep - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
9 Sep - Montreal, Canada @ La Sala Rossa
10 Sep - Toronto, Canada @ Horseshoe Tavern
11 Sep - Pontiac, MI @ The Crofoot
12 Sep - Chicago, IL @ Metro
13 Sep - Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar
14 Sep - Madison, WI @ The Annex
15 Sep - Columbus, OH @ The Basement
18 Sep - Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East

Visit The Walkmen on MySpace.

*above photo of The Walkmen live @ The Earl - 9 March 2008; more HERE