Red Int / Red Ink
2008
Como Te Llama?
About This Album
A big part of what made Albert Hammond, Jr.'s first solo album, Yours to Keep, such a pleasant surprise was that it sounded like a lively working holiday right after the Strokes' albums were beginning to sound like a job for the band. And because Yours to Keep was such a pleasant surprise, expectations were higher for its follow-up, ¿Como Te Llama? Maybe it's just coincidence -- or the fact that a couple more years passed since First Impressions of Earth was released -- but ¿Como Te Llama? sounds a lot more like a Strokes album than Yours to Keep did. A few songs, like "G Up" and "Miss Myrtle," have the happy-go-lucky, Beach Boys-meet-Guided by Voices pop whimsy of Hammond's debut, but he spends most of the album tracing the sound of his day job. That's not necessarily a bad thing: "In My Room" boasts the same contrast between aggressive playing and flowing, almost soft melodies that make the Strokes so great when they're at the top of their game. "The Boss Americana," which intersperses choppy verses with fluid choruses, would be a standout on an album released by Hammond or his main band. Hammond sounds like he's channeling Julian Casablancas' world-weary Noo Yawk rasp on "Borrowed Time"'s vocals, while its angular riffs and rhythms nod to Spoon and Elvis Costello.
Track List (try tracks 2,4,5,11 and 12)

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