For this heavyweight collaboration, two musicians at the top of their game bring out each other's best.
Former Walkmen vocalist Hamilton Leithauser and former Vampire Weekend multi-instrumentalist and sonic auteur Rostam Batmanglij conspire to offer an album about phoney memories and phoney nostalgia. Batmanglij's doo-wop sounds become sinister once layered with Leithauser's seedy, late night bar room melodies. The album pulls out organs, violins, harmonicas, sax and rolling melodies, culminating in a chilling, angelic duet with Dirty Projectors' Angel Deradoorian. Batmanglij's production brings new rhythms and dynamism to Leithauser's edge-of-breaking pathos and, in turn, Leithauser's witty lyricism and wry story telling invite Batmanglij to play with richer, muddier sounds.
