Hamilton Leithauser

After his band, The Walkmen, went on indefinite hiatus late last year, the singer Hamilton Leithauser found himself on his own for the first time in nearly 14 years.

"We divided up all the chores in the Walkmen, and now I've got all the chores," says Leithauser, whose solo debut album, Black Hours, was released in May via Ribbon Music. It features a close-up of the smiling singer in profile on its cover. The choice, he says, was a deliberate one. "I didn't want to start my new band with some random image. I just wanted to have my name on it and be like, 'This is the guy,' you know? This is what you're getting."

What listeners are getting is a surprising album of moody ballads and swinging pop anthems inspired by schmaltzy sounds and the sad-sack routine of Frank Sinatra. The collections first single is "Alexandra". Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij produced and co-wrote the song, and he shows up in the video too. Musically, the song is way jauntier than anything we've heard Leithauser sing before. The track is an explosion of exuberant beat, chiming keys, and steady guitar.

In addition to Batmanglij, Black Hours features contributions from Dirty Projectors' Amber Coffman, Richard Swift (the Shins, solo artist), the Walkmen's Paul Maroon, Fleet Foxes/Cave Singers' Morgan Henderson (who is also formerly of the Blood Brothers), and Hugh McIntosh of Leithauser's former band the Recoys.

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