Hamilton Leithauser – Bush Hall, London 27/05/14

Tonight, as he prepares to release his first solo record, Hamilton Leithauser is more grown up than ever, using traditional boy-girl harmonies and a full string section to explore ideas which wouldn’t quite have fit into The Walkmen’s canon.

The Walkmen – especially as their sound took the trajectory it did – often fell prey to inverse snobbery and rich-kid catcalls. But tonight, with Leithauser dressed – without any exaggeration – like a military man at a formal dinner, absolutely immaculately, you can see where the accusations came from.

Free from the legacy of screaming embittered break up songs, Leithauser restyles himself as a 50s rock icon. His chin actually juts; his hips are locked. He’s “just gotta tell us” everything he says between songs. It’s hard to believe this is a man who was ever on stage wearing a beanie hat.

These songs are rich and classical. Supported by a full string section and a female backing vocalist for traditional duet harmonies, Leithauser’s songs continue to explore the maturity of The Walkmen’s late period, while trying his hand at a range of new styles and genres. The longer The Walkmen went on, the more instantly recognisable and unmistakable their sound became.

Tonight, Leithauser breaks free of this sound. One song runs on a traditional blues lick, the next is a melancholic piano ballad. There are elements of doo-wop alongside elements of classical. There are sudden shifts in texture, and ruptures in time signatures. The liberation of being able to try out new ideas invigorates all of these songs.

And of course, there’s still That Voice (its status as a proper noun is now all but official) to hold it all together. Despite the oaky maturity of the material, Leithauser still gets plenty of opportunity to properly open his throat, grabbing the microphone sideways and pushing the veins out of his neck: the outward signals of Leithauser pushing his vocal to outer limits. As might be expected, this is the groundwork on which most of tonight’s successes are built.

The set meanders ever so slightly through its back third, but it’s definitely a gorgeous collection of songs, and a near-instant break from his past. Leithauser comes to a solo career with the hell of a weight of expectation, but tonight’s set more than stands up to his existing body of work, while showing some new sides to his musicianship.

It’s a brilliant performance unto itself, and an exciting signpost to the future, suggesting that Leithauser’s best work could be without The Walkmen, rather than with them.