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>> Listen to the Walkmen's " Many Rivers to Cross," a track from their rerecording of Pussy Cats. (RealPlayer required).

After the long, difficult process of recording their recent album A Hundred Miles Off, the Walkmen relaxed by recording another album. Pussy Cats, which hits stores October 24th, is a near-exact recreation of Harry Nilsson's 1974 album of the same name, produced by John Lennon. Often considered one of the best buddy albums of all time, the original was recorded during Lennon's legendary "lost weekend" -- it was more like eighteen months -- when he was separated from Yoko Ono and spent his time carousing in L.A. with friends like Keith Moon, Ringo Starr and Nilsson.

"It's one of the strangest, funniest albums I've ever heard," says Walkmen frontman Hamilton Leithauser, who cites the track "Mucho Mango" -- with Lennon on vocals -- and the boozy, groovy version of Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" as his favorite songs on the record. "We always played it in our van when we were out on tour. We loved it."

To record the heavily layered album, the band recruited friends to play saxophone, strings, and to sing in a barroom-style chorus, and finished the whole project in three weeks. "We were all so happy doing it," says bassist Peter Bauer. "It was like a gift to ourselves."

>> Listen to the Walkmen's " Many Rivers to Cross," a track from their rerecording of Pussy Cats. (RealPlayer required).