Albert Hammond Jr: A Stroke Of Genius

It wasn’t always Albert Hammond Jr’s intention to become a musician. From a young age, the Strokes axeman-cum-solo troubadour had his eye on something a little more systematic. “‘It was always my dream as a kid to become a scientist” he says thoughtfully in this excitable New York twang, “but I remember distinctly when I caught the bug for music and writing, I just needed to figure out how I was going to do it.”
 
The world of science may not be mourning a great loss, but Hammond Jr has instead blossomed into an artist that can drift happily been garage-rock heavyweights The Strokes and his own experimental incarnation. Hammond Jr’s second solo album, 'Como Te Llama', is full of big tunes and even bigger ideas infusing grandstand instrumentals ('Spooky Couch') with bombastic reggae workouts ('Borrowed Time').
 
Hammond Jr is clearly proud of the final result, “When we (the band) were making the record it felt like the first album ('Yours To Keep') all over again. I’ve been really fortunate to work with some great musicians and I really want success for the band players more than myself because that’ll build on something that lasts a long time.”
 
One of the most notable additions to Hammond Jr’s circle of players was Sean Lennon’s turn on 'Spooky Couch'. Lennon’s sedate piano-playing, added to lilting strings and brushed percussion, turned 'Spooky Couch' into a grandiose affair. Hammond explains the involvement with his usual enthused tones. “Sean and I just good friends and I love the way he plays. It’s so much easier to say something is terrible and forget about it rather than realise it’s terrible and then do something about it. Sean, like all the other players, were able to find ways of making songs better, to play them in a different way.”
 
Although Hammond Jr is arguably the most musically productive out of all the Strokes, he’s still able to differentiate between the band and his solo work. Hammond explains further, “Deciding what tunes sit well with myself or with the band just kind of comes together. I’m working on songs all the time, the latest being 'Tea And Cake Hurts'.”