Kevin Bronson on June 2nd, 2010

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If Tommy Walter didn’t have bad luck … well, he wouldn’t have those hard-luck stories he can tell about his first two albums.

Walter, in his nom de tune Abandoned Pools, released two fine albums last decade. “Humanistic” came out in 2001, just before Extasy Records went belly-up. “Armed to the Teeth” followed in 2005, only to be hung out to dry after Universal was not rewarded with a radio hit. Walter went on to collaborate in Glacier Hiking and Oliver the Penguin, work in production and write for film and TV.

• ||| Premiere: Download the new track “Legionnaire”

Now, undaunted, he’s picking up his Abandoned Pools pen again. He’s halfway through writing an as-yet-untitled third album, and Abandoned Pools will play its first live show in almost five years on June 15 at Spaceland. “You have to embrace the good stuff with the bad stuff,” the 39-year-old multi-instrumentalist says. “My head-space right now is a lot more positive than it’s ever been.

“And I think I’ve developed as a writer – sonically, it’s almost as if I want to sum the first two records up. The last one was not a happy record. But this one seems to me as kind of a triumphant record.”

Walter, an original member of Eels, earned largely positive reviews for “Humanistic,” a mix of dark rock, muscular synths and pop hooks on overdrive. It took him a couple of years to bounce back and make “Armed,” an intricately layered blast of guitars, electronics and orchestration with the kind of big choruses that make emo kids tingle.

“My core group of fans liked it,” Walter said of the sophomore effort, “but there was no promotion, no follow-up after the album was released. It came out in September, and by Christmas I was out of my [record] deal. It was pretty heartbreaking, like it is for anybody who’s been in that situation.”

The next year, Walter began work with Ross Golan as Glacier Hiking, a project that has continued to gain momentum. “With any kind of side project or collaboration, it’s not my worldview. And when you’re writing for hire, it’s not the same – somebody says, ‘Can you write this?’ and you say, ‘Well, let’s see …'” Walter says. “But when it’s your own project, you have to be a lot more serious, a lot more invested.”

And a little more courageous. Says Walter: “I have to be more open, and, of course, willing to be knocked down again.”

||| Live: Abandoned Pools, Vanaprasta, Chasing Kings and special guests, June 15 at Spaceland.