Peter Matthew Bauer - Liberation!

It’d be naive not to assume some kind of significance as far as the title’s concerned; not only in terms of Bauer’s new-found freedom from the band dynamic he was used to, but also with regard to the fact that unlike Martin and Leithauser’s broadly collaborative efforts, both of which featured contributions from former Walkmen, this record feels like a more genuine solo affair. Thematically, Bauer has been able to diverge into considerably more esoteric territory than his old band were typically given to; Liberation! is littered with references to religion and belief systems, with particular emphasis on his upbringing in a Hindu yoga cult.

What’s far more immediately striking, though, is just how good of a rock and roll voice Bauer has; his delivery is remarkably self-assured for somebody who’s spent most of their career to date away from the microphone, and he’s paired it intelligently with the instrumentation. Like Leithauser on Black Hours, he’s apparently aiming for a sonic throwback; scratchy opener “I Was Born in an Ashram” feels very sixties, all group harmonies with a washed-out chugging guitar doing the heavy lifting. It segues neatly into the feverish “Latin American Ficciones”, which is equal parts Tom Petty and Elvis Costello.

It’s when Bauer brings that bullishness to proceedings that the record is at its best; “Irish Wake in Varanasi” fizzes along, carefully picked guitar intermittently taking precedence above increasingly noisy rhythm playing, whilst “Scientology Airplane Conversations” - one of a few points at which Bauer tackles altogether more modern religious thinking, along with the Richard Dawkins-referencing title track - is driven primarily by his eccentric vocal turn. When he opts for a more lackadaisical approach, the results are markedly more uneven; the subdued “Philadelphia Raga” meanders, and “Shiva the Destroyer” is really the only point at which Bauer seems to be channeling his old band - it certainly sounds like The Walkmen operating at twenty percent of their capacity, anyway.

“You Are the Chapel”, in closing the record, displays an appetite for the tongue-in-cheek only hinted at elsewhere (“I see you looking like Oasis! Why does anyone wanna look like Oasis?”). It brings the curtain down, in suitably energetic fashion, on a record that does a fine job of showcasing Bauer’s obvious potential as a songwriter. By refusing to surround himself with high-profile contributors, as Martin and Leithauser opted to, he’s succeeded in putting genuine distance between himself and his old band. The uneven narrative is often jarring, but as an attempt to put a modern spin on old-time rock and roll, Liberation! hits more than it misses.