A well-crafted collaboration between Hamilton Leithauser and Rostam. Leithauser’s voice is raw, lived-in, and soulful while Rostam’s production layers crisp guitars, driving drums, and airy textures that make the record feel timeless. The album draws from doo-wop, soul, country, and folk, yet never feels retro for its own sake. Songs like Rough Going show off Vampire Weekend–style rhythms, and In a Black Out stands out, for me, as a dreamy ballad with strummed guitar. Even though the atmosphere stays fairly consistent, each song brings its own character, and the differences reveal themselves more with repeated listens. Not every track is as strong as the next, but as a whole this is a solid album
I Had a Dream That You Were Mine
Hamilton Leithauser
Rostam
2016
Album Summary
I Had a Dream That You Were Mine is a collaborative studio album by Hamilton Leithauser, the former frontman of The Walkmen, and Rostam, the multi-instrumentalist and former producer of Vampire Weekend. It was released on September 23, 2016 on Glassnote Records, and preceded by the singles "A 1000 Times", "In a Black Out" and "When the Truth Is..." After first meeting in 2008 while performing at the same show, the pair collaborated on two tracks for Leithauser's debut solo album, Black Hours (2014), before deciding to work together on a full-length. It was recorded between February 2014 and July 2016 at Rostam Batmanglij's home studio in Los Angeles, and released under both artists' names as a tribute to the collaborative albums between David Byrne and Brian Eno. The album cover uses Bill Brandt's photograph titled "Portrait of a Young Girl, Eaton Place" from 1955.
Reviews
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Really good indie album, one I’ll come back to.
Musically rich with emotionally earnest vocals. These songs are just brimming with a personality and feeling that I miss hearing in music. Brilliant choice, thanks for sharing it. Fave Songs: Peaceful Morning, A 1000 Times, Sick as a Dog, The Bride's Dad, Rough Going (I Won't Let Up), You Ain't That Young Kid
Några fina låtar men som helhet håller inte hela plattan. Fullt godkänd dock.
Indie rock. Ni fu ni fa.
I Had a Dream That You Were Mine is interesting enough for an indie album, gave me vibes of some more mellow Gaslight Anthem stuff at times, Leithauser's voice has some similarities to Brian Fallon's imo. It's quite a calming listen and it does a fair job of bringing together a few styles without it seeming over the top or at the detriment of the music. A characterful 3/5, When The Truth Is... stuck with me, lovely song.