The Walkmen provided some glimpses of the future on Tuesday night, playing a 17-song set to a pretty-full-but-not-sold-out 9:30 Club. However, if Tuesday’s set served as an indicator as to the band’s songwriting direction, then they haven’t quite made their mind up yet. The word “boozy” has been used to describe the band’s sound in the past, but “boozy” only buys you a finite line of credit. Their most recent work has showcased multiple divergent influences. 2006’s A Hundred Miles Off (which we interviewed them about at the time) brought in horns and some different strokes of the punk and classic rock that had made up their earlier work, while 2008’s You & Me brought a more soulful sound, making singer Hamilton Leithauser sound like an age-old indie-rock crooner.

The set featured several new songs, and Leithauser noted that the band has been busy writing a few times during the set. The set opener, referred to around the web as “The Sky Above,” was a mid-tempo number that kept Leithauser’s voice mid-range. Some slide guitar on the eventual recording might be a good fit, if they’re soliciting opinions. Another new song, featuring the lines “Is this what you meant when you told me to piss off?” and “what’s mine is yours and what’s yours is yours, go figure” was reminiscent of “This Job is Killing Me” and “Always After You” from A Hundred Miles Off. The band threw in a slower, quiet new song later in the set that had the crowd marveling at the vocal range that Leithauser has developed.