Albert Hammond, Jr. ¿Cómo Te Llama? by: Ed Butler Tue:15-Jul-08 Label: RCA Year: 2008 WB rating 72 out of 100

By all accounts Albert Hammond Jr is the ‘arty’ Stroke. Phrases like ‘creative driving force’ get tossed around when discussing his solo work, which now, with the release of ¿Cómo Te Llama?, amounts to two albums. That it retains his parent band’s simplicity and restraint is surprising and refreshing – it would seem that this particular solo project is no vanity outing. The Strokes have been gradually expanding their repertoire over the course of their three releases, to the point where ‘Juicebox’, from 2006’s First Impressions of Earth, actually managed an atmosphere that did not immediately recall 70s proto-punksters, Television or the Velvet Underground. The whole time, they have positively reeked of a band aching to escape the cage that they built for themselves with their classic debut.

And Hammond appears to have brought that particular baggage with him into the studio. Opener ‘Bargain of the Century’ leads in with a distinctly Strokesian single note bass riff, before an equally familiar drum pattern follows. However, the mandolin and down-tempo verse signifies louder than any screaming press kit that, on ¿Cómo Te Llama?, Hammond is fighting the darker angels of his nature, and it is a battle that he doesn’t always win. This, however, is by no means a bad thing.

Witness the guitar flourishes filling the bridge on ‘In My Room’ and any concerns that his more traditionalist tendencies would swamp the album ought to be allayed. Likewise, the introduction to ‘The Boss Americana’ recalls ‘Trying Your Luck’ from Is This It, before launching into a decidedly more idiosyncratic, straight-up rock number. If nothing else, these diversions reinforce the often-forgotten notion that the Strokes are more than capable of putting together some rock-solid tunes.

What is even more refreshing to hear is that when he manages to cast off the shackles of his erstwhile bandmates and unveil his own songwriting tendencies, ¿Cómo Te Llama? genuinely comes into its own. The cascading opening riff of ‘Gfc’ is joined by a gently undulating bass line of the sort that would never be allowed from Nikolai Fraiture, and it is the first real glimpse of a truly Hammond sound. His vocals, which we have yet to consider, seem to be slightly reminiscent of Julian Casablancas, while the tendency to wash words in a bucket of fuzz is lamentable, particularly on numbers like ‘Gfc’, which has none of the rawness of many of The Strokes’ songs.

As such, it is somewhat fitting that the best track here is an instrumental. The seven-and-a-half minute ‘Spooky Couch’ is drenched in reverb, Hammond allowing the smoothly staccato guitar layers to interact gradually, building to an uncomplicated climax which benefits as much from its restraint as it does from its catharsis. Immediately following this is ‘Borrowed Time’, which allows him to indulge in a heretofore unknown reggae fetish, something that is accomplished surprisingly well, even down to the faux-Jamaican accented vocals.

After a quick relapse with ‘G Up’, the album closes on ‘Miss Myrtle’ and ‘Feed Me Jack;How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love’, both mining a rich vein of Beatles influences which sit comfortably with the myriad other influences on display here. The confidence that Hammond appears to have in his own work is exhibited again in a squally, Ghost is Born-era Wilco style guitar solo, and also by the presence of these songs at the back end of the album.

While far from perfect, ¿Cómo Te Llama? is certainly a refreshing solo effort. It would have been all too easy to lean too far in one direction or the other – to make a Strokes-lite record, satisfying fans slavering for the follow up to First Impressions of Earth, or drifting into self-indulgence. Instead, ¿Cómo Te Llama? straddles the fence between integrity and simplicity, announcing that Albert Hammond Jr is certainly a man with some extra talent to burn.