Llama far more ambitious for Strokes star
By Helen Horn-Mitchem
Albert Hammond Jr. of Strokes fame took advantage of his band’s extended hiatus to produce his well-reviewed solo debut Yours to Keep. Now, nearly two years later, with a new Strokes offering still a ways off, Hammond has released his follow-up album, the far more ambitious ¿Cómo Te Llama?. A study in genre eclecticism, Hammond pulls from everything from disco to reggae to The Beach Boys. The results are hit or miss. But even the misses aren’t enough to drag down the album, which is firmly held together by a core of quality guitar-drive power pop songs. Hammond’s playing is as good as ever. Excellent guitar solos abound and possibly the best track on the album is the seven minute instrumental “Spooky Couch.” But other more experimental tracks, such as “Borrowed Time,” suffer from over-complication.
On the whole Yours to Keep was far more solid an offering then ¿Cómo Te Llama? is, but the latter shows that Hammond is moving on and expanding his songwriting repertoire, sometimes with excellent results.
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