Albert Hammond Jr continues to forge his own path in the annals of retro rock & roll.
“This is my life, sonically. It’s also just music, so let’s not get so serious about it.”
Albert Hammond Jr heeds warning to anyone looking to overtly critique his latest record, a sprawling 19-track collection taking elements of everything that’s gone before in a career now spanning over 25 years.
If 2018’s Francis Trouble was a swift ode to characteristic guitar-pop hooks and captivating melodies, Melodies On Hiatus – as the tongue-in-cheek title suggests – sees a widened lens approach that builds on The Strokes’ penchant for claustrophobic 80’s synth beats and jaunty riffs with the introduction of explorative sonic landscapes.
Eschewing the soaring skyscrapers of New York for the unfolding spread of Los Angeles towards the horizon may well have something to do with this, as does the writing efforts of Canadian writer and poet Simon Wilcox, who transcribed Albert Hammond Jr’s rough demo ideas and phone calls into ready-made lyrics.
While songwriting may not come as easy as crafting a series of catchy guitar notes, opener ‘100-99’ evidences the fruits of this fresh approach with a guest slot from GoldLink – rapping a verse depicting intense relationship frustration after Hammond’s hypnotically understated vocals wrap around gentle keyboard taps.
Shifting gear into the spritely, Vampire Weekend-aping Downtown Fred, there’s evidence that the gliding melodies haven’t disappeared just yet. Strident chorus riffs and playful lyrics such as, ‘Everyone comes for the tea and the books, if you don’t mind all the come-hither looks’, are reminiscent of the bleary-eyed 00’s indie in which The Strokes pervaded.
At 43 years-of-age, Albert Hammond Jr states that there’s, ‘a lot of personal things about me in the record, and you can imagine the number of mistakes I’ve made’. You get the feeling that he’s talking about sentiments such as those found on Old Man, where only the hindsight of middle age sees him regretting giving his father a hard time when younger – with a customary solo guitar interlude trademarking the track.
Matt Helders lives out Alex Turner’s now infamous pining for ‘just wanting to be one of The Strokes’ as he lends his sticks to Thoughtful Distress. Nostalgic ‘computer game’ bleeps set the tone for a highlight of the album, with Helders’ sturdy backing to a gloriously rhythmic tale of unrequited love that at once recalls Drake’s Hold On, We’re Going Home in the verses and all your favourite classic rock odes during the chorus.
While the more subdued second half of the album could well have benefitted from trimming back some of the less rounded ideas, Albert Hammond Jr just about gets away with maintaining interest for the full duration of a runtime clocking in at just over an hour.
A soundtrack for cruising the neon-lit LA streets at midnight, Dead Air represents a hazy, glossy affair containing a raft of existential lyrics on the surface futility of modern life, including a weary snap at the need to fill silent rooms with conversation, ‘Why is it when the silence hits, it feels like we don’t exist?’, and ‘Everybody goes somewhere, taking turns that lead nowhere’, while Never Stop is a straight up homage to The Rolling Stones with its Start Me Up opening riff leading into singalong chorus designed for live shows.
In the age of throwaway pop records and a growing focus on strong singles to cut through the crowded streaming market, Albert Hammond Jr deserves immense credit for sticking to his guns and experimenting with his sound in his unending pursuit of musical enlightenment.
