Pitchfork

Photo by Natalie Kardos

Their very name is made for walking, and that's just what the Walkmen have done in preparation for their new album. According to two interviews with frontman Hamilton Leithauser, the forthcoming LP will be released on a label other than Record Collection, which put out Pussy Cats, A Hundred Miles Off, and Bows and Arrows.

"We're actually in negotiations right now with a new label, and we're all happy about that too. I think a little fresh blood will be good for us," Leithauser said in an interview with the Baltimore blog Butter Team.

A representative from the label said, "Record Collection's deal with the Walkmen expired after the release of Pussy Cats. We've had an amazing time working for the Walkmen, we're all still friends and we wish them luck as they move into the future."

Leithauser revealed more about the contents of the new record in an interview with Billboard.com. Apparently, it features "a lot more instrumentation" than previous records, including turns on the trumpet and viola from member Paul Maroon. "It's sort of our sound again, but when you have it with a new instrument you can modify it the slightest bit, which to us sounds completely new," Leithauser explained.

Billboard.com reports that the band has finished recording nine songs, with six to go, and they plan to finish those this month in time for a spring release date. Between the two interviews, Leithauser confirmed that "If Only It Were True", "Red Moon", "Around and Around", "Blue Route", and "I Lost You" are all in the running for the record's tracklist. He told Billboard.com that "I Lost You" was the album's "breakthrough song," adding, "We wanted to do, like, a big Roy Orbison song that ends with a big [crescendo]. We tried a lot of different strings and horn parts and finally found a few that go together. We think it's fantastic. It's, like, power rock."

And finally, Leithauser let Butter Team in on the progress of the band's novel: "We really are trying to finish it even though it might take us 20 years."

The Walkmen will display this newfound power on the road, including some shows with Vampire Weekend.

Walkin':

01-21 St. Louis, MO - Duck Room *
01-22 Columbus, OH - The Basement *
01-23 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's *
01-24 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar *
02-27 San Francisco, CA - The Independent (Noise Pop)
02-28 Orange County, CA - Samueli Theater !
03-03 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle $
03-04 Charleston, SC - The Map Room $
03-05 Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder $
03-06 Orlando, FL - The Social %
03-07 Everglades, FL - Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation (Langerado Festival)
03-08 St. Augustine, FL - Cafe Eleven %
03-09 Atlanta, GA - The Earl %
03-10 Birmingham, AL - Bottletree Cafe %
03-12 Charlottesville, VA - The Satellite Ballroom

* with White Rabbits
! with the Delta Spirit
$ with Office
% with Vampire Weekend