Photo: Press
You know Albert Hammond Jr. You know the mop of curly hair, the razor-sharp riffs, the laissez-faire rhythms and the effortless cool which he rode with grace when The Strokes became such an Earth-shattering presence at the turn of the century.
So the chilled grooves and motorik beats on his new solo EP, AHJ, should come as no great shock, right? But that's where Hammond kicks back with a surprise. This is an all new Albert Hammond Jr - an artist at his most assured, most comfortable and most ambitious. Gigwise spoke to the New York icon about creativity, coming clean and moving on.
"I think that comes naturally from me being in a better place," ponders Albert Hammond Jr when quizzed on the refreshing energy and vigour to the tracks on AHJ. It's been five years since he last released solo material - and much has changed. In that time, The Strokes dropped two albums into a world that's come a long way from drainpipe jeans, dirty cons and 'Is This It'. For Hammond too, he's had a lot of demons to face.
The guitarist only recently revealed the severity of his substance abuse issues, admitting he was an addict for much of his 20s - telling NME Magazine that he became addicted to cocaine, heroin and ketamine, shooting up '20 times a day'. He says it felt just finally felt natural to open up about his substance abuse - much to the surprise of his mother.
"I guess for me, it doesn't feel like a weird thing to have out there," he said. "I didn't show it in a 'reality TV show kind of way'. It was just that you have to explain where you were to explain where you are now and for people to understand why you're saying certain things. It wasn't about showcasing 'oh, look what I did' - it was more about 'wow, how did I make it through that?
"Therapy is when I talk to my therapist. Talking to the media isn't therapeutic but it's definitely interesting to see the reaction and I definitely didn't feel strange to talk about it. Funnily enough, the only reaction that I really get is from people responding on social media. That and my mom was like 'why didn't you tell me?' - but you can't tell your mom all of the gory details."
And so there he was - clean, free and needing an outlet for his creativity away from the monolithic shadow of his band. But it was from his friendship with Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas, where the origins of his latest work began.
"Julian was the genesis of it all," admits Hammond. "As soon as I knew he was doing something with Cult (Casablancas' record label), I thought it would be cool to do something together but it never really came into fruition. It was never the right timing, then it all came to be. He said 'let's just start out with a song or two' and it all went from there'. It's still small and homegrown which is great because it feels like we did at the beginning - we're both trying to make it. It's an adventure for both of us."
"It was awesome because they wanted to see what more we had, and I couldn't imagine taking these songs anywhere else. "
Either way, living separately from The Strokes should be much less of an obstacle by now. Hammond has already released two solo albums under his own name. Surely it's fair to say that his work is judged by its own merits and past all other points of comparison?
"I don't think that's so much my choice, but I don't think it's a good thing or a bad thing either way," says Hammond. "With a band like The Strokes, the way that we came into the scene it's strange. It will always be there and I can only see it a a positive. The longer I do this, I'll get more of my own thing. I'm proud of both and I've been very, very lucky."
He continues: "I love my role in the band and obviously it gives me something else, but I don't know if I need it. I've always loved to play a variety of music, as much as it scares me and it's great to have that ability. I'm not running away from my past, it's just a different outlet and the time is right."
So, with nothing to face but the present, what drives Hammond? Simple: a competitive drive. He's the first to admit that 'hearing other people's songs becomes like a competition' - and that he had recently found inspiration in the likes of Arctic Monkeys and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, as well as his Strokes bandmates.
"It can just be a new random song that you hear, by The Sweet or whoever," he says. "You can feel the competition within your own band as well - especially with a great songwriter like Julian. The other guys too, they're full of great idea."
He goes on: "Arctic Monkeys, Yeah Yeah Yeahs - these are all bands that keep coming out with things that make me go 'shit - that's exciting'. You feel it when you're doing it yourself - when you finish a song you say 'shit, I'm glad we did that'."
Albert Hammond Jr's AHJ is due out now
In the past month alone, the buzz around The Strokes' peers Kings of Leon, The Killers and Arctic Monkeys is intense as ever, with them each gathering excitement around new releases. We asked Hammond what it was about music of that era that had such staying power.
"I felt it when we started the band around 1999-2000," he replies. "When we came out, there wasn't really 'rock' like you know it now. When we were playing radio shows and travelling around, we realised that we were different to everyone else. There was something which just sparked something new and I feel like bands just started to make great songs and people fell in love with the idea of bands - how they hung out and what they said."
Hammond added: "I think that a good song and a universal song makes you part of a whole thing and makes humans feel connected. You feel good with the people around you, then 30 years later it's so universal that it will feel new."
If Hammond's current streak is anything to judge him by, we'll be enjoying his work for decades and decades to come.
AHJ by Albert Hammond Jr is out now
