If there’s any good news to be taken away from the recent announcement of NYC-based indie-rock troupe The Walkmen’s “extreme hiatus,” it’s that at least the band’s members might now put out twice as much material. On June 3, frontman Hamilton Leithauser released his solo debut, Black Hours, and just three weeks later, bassist/organist Peter Matthew Bauer dropped Liberation! Die-hard fans of The Walkmen will be happy to know that aside from Leithauser’s powerhouse croon, Bauer’s record features all the hallmarks of your standard standout Walkmen record — from reverb-slathered guitars and big, catchy melodies to sundry percussion and rich organs. Littered with song titles like “Irish Wake in Varanasi (For Big Pete Devlin),” “Latin American Ficciones,” “Philadelphia Raga” and “Istanbul Field Recording,” Liberation! feels like a well-traveled tourist’s photo album documenting stops at the homes of Harry Belafonte, Paul Simon, Tom Petty, Keith Richards and Bono. Let’s see how it sounds live.
Honey Locust and Skyler Skjelset will open tonight's show at The High Watt, which starts at 8 p.m. and costs $10.
