Hamilton Leithauser announces his debut solo album Black Hours via Ribbon Music on May 5th. 

The album brings Leithauser full circle and then some, from lonely midwinter piano-and-vocals sessions, to a loud, live Rock’n’Roll group and back again. Featuring Leithauser with a slew of talented collaborators including Rostam Batmanglij (Vampire Weekend), Paul Maroon (The Walkmen), Morgan Henderson (Fleet Foxes) and Richard Swift (The Shins/solo), the album showcases Leithauser at his most passionate, personal and free.

 It was directed by SXSW Film Festival Grand Jury award winning director Tristan Patterson.  The track was co-written by Hamilton Leithauser and Rostam Batmanglij, the latter producing and mixing the track.

 Black Hours speaks from one booming voice. The instrumentation provides muscle and texture: Maroon covering a wide range of acoustic and electric guitars as well as grand piano; Batmanglij switching between guitar, harpsichord, piano, bass and harmonica; Morgan Henderson from Fleet Foxes takes the marimba and upright bass, and Richard Swift lays down impressive drums on seven tracks (Henderson & Swift will be accompanying Leithauser on a full U.S. tour). Amber Coffman from Dirty Projectors provides backing vocals on several numbers and even Hugh McIntosh of Leithauser’s first band, the Recoys, returns to the drum stool for a pair of songs.

Principal recording was done in August 2013 at Vox Studios in Los Angeles, “the oldest private studio in the world”, where Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Johnny Mercer, and countless others cut demos before appearing on air at NBC studios, just across Melrose Ave.

The track listing for Black Hours is as follows:

1. 5 AM

2. The Silent Orchestra

3. Alexandra

4. 11 O’Clock Friday Night

5. St Mary’s County

6. Self Pity

7. I Retired

8. I Don’t Need Anyone

9. Bless Your Heart

10. The Smallest Splinter

11. Waltz [Deluxe Edition]

12. In Our Time (I’ll Always Love You) [Deluxe Edition]

13. Utrecht [Deluxe Edition]

14. I’ll Never Love Again [Deluxe Edition]