New Albert Hammond, Jr.

Although I haven't really enjoyed anything The Strokes have done since Is This It, I immensely enjoyed guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr.'s 2006 solo album, Yours To Keep.

The album wasn't anything earth-shattering, but it was enjoyable precisely because it didn't try to be - it was breezy, catchy and completely likable. Pretty much the opposite of the last couple Strokes albums, which to my ear were a clear demonstration of style substituted for substance and a lack of new ideas.

So I was happy to see today that Albert has a second album, entitled ¿Como Te Llama?, coming out on July 8th on Black Seal Records. The first track from the album, "GfC", is supposed to be available for download here, but doesn't seem to be working right now. If you want to hear it, you can stream it over at Albert's iLike page.

The song isn't quite as catchy as the first album, and has a significantly darker edge to it, but I really like it.