Who doesn’t love Hamilton Leithauser’s vocals?  In and out of The Walkmen, Leithauser’s voice is singular and seriously sending.  Now Leithauser has combined with Rostam Batmanglij (ex of Vampire Weekend) as Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam, and put out an affecting new song entitled 1000 Times.  Leithauser nails the vocal on the new song.  Check it out below (and the lyrics below it).

Evidently an album is in the works and according to Batmanglij:  “[E]very now and then I get a feeling that it might be one of the best records I make in my whole life. We worked really hard on lyrics and every song tells a story. In some ways, the more that I write songs, the more I feel that telling a story is the most important thing; just being able to close your eyes when you hear some lyrics and go somewhere. It’s worth taking the time to do that, because people respond to it.”

Batmanglij separately said this about the song: “I always wanted to try to really capture his [Leithauser’s] voice in a way I felt like maybe it had never been captured before, just in terms of how it was recorded, and also pushing him to really scream.  Because it’s interesting, like his voice has this kind of choir boy aspect to it, but then when he screams, it’s like a little bit of the choir boy is still intact, and I think that’s a special blend of things. He sings in a way like no one else sings. So I kind of felt like it was my role as the producer, to bring that out of him. And I think ‘A 1000 Times’ is probably one of the best examples of that…. [T]he song started with a beat I made while Hamilton and I were working out of my studio in LA. We picked it back up in New York and finished writing it in Washington, DC. I wanted us to do a song where the snares would crack as hard as Hamilton’s voice. To me, the song became about that interaction between the vocals and the drums.”

Nailed it! We can’t wait for the album!

Speaking of numbers, we couldn’t help but be reminded by this song of the chorus of the old chestnut at very bottom below.

“I had a dream that you were mine
I’ve had that dream a thousand times
A thousand times, a thousand times
I’ve had that dream a thousand times

I left my room, on the west side
I walked from noon, until the night
I changed my crowd, I ditched my tie
I watched the sparks, fly off the fire

I found your house, I didn’t even try
They’d closed the shutters , they’d pulled the blinds
My eyes were red, the streets were bright
Those ancient years, were black and white

The 10th of Novemeber, the Years almost over
If I had your number, I’d call you tomorrow
If my eyes were open, I’d be kicking the doors in
But all that I have is this old dream I’ve always had

A thousand times, a thousand times
I’ve had that dream a thousand times
A thousand times, a thousand times
I’ve had that dream a thousand times

I left my room, on the west side
I walked from noon, until the night
I changed my crowd, I ditched my tie
I watched the sparks, fly off the fire

I found your old house, I didn’t even try
They’d closed the shutters, they’d pulled the blinds
My eyes were red, the streets were bright
Those ancient years, were black and white

I had a dream that you were mine
I’ve had that dream a thousand times

But I don’t answer questions, I just keep on guessing
My eyes are still open, the curtains are closing
And all that I have is this old dream I must have had.

A thousand times, a thousand times
I’ve had that dream a thousand times
A thousand times, a thousand times
I’ve had that dream a thousand times

A thousand times, a thousand times
I’ve had that dream a thousand times
A thousand times, a thousand times
I’ve had that dream a thousand times”