Albert Hammond Sr. Spawning a Keeper

       "Hit or miss" is a term that purportedly dates back to the early 1600s. It's safe to assume King James VI of Scotland used it as a phrase when justifying his daily witch hunts. For me, it couldn't be more appropriate than when used to describe the solo projects by members of bands you enjoy. What works as a collaboration of minds and styles isn't always going to work on an individual level. Most musicians seem to THINK they have the ability to write their own stuff, but clearly this is not always the case. Perhaps they feel the band isn't giving them enough creative input, with the band headed in a direction the individual isn't happy with. Invariably, most members will someday join a side project or front their own band, especially in an age when it's so easy to release music. "Hit or miss" seems to have been coined as a way to define how these experiments work out. Sometimes you're the witch and sometimes you're the manancial ruler of a sovereign land killing those that supposedly practice the dark arts.

A serene Looney Toons landscape.

      Keeping all of this in mind, and knowing how much control the lead singer of The Strokes seemed to exert on his band, I wasn't sure what to think upon the 2006 release of Albert Hammond Jr.'s Yours to Keep. At the time, Albert had the distinction of being a famous son, and one of the founding five members of The Strokes.  As a big fan of his parent band, I knew he contributed excellent lead and rhythm guitar parts, enjoyed wearing his guitar at a seemingly uncomfortable height and rocked an excellent 'fro that my own curly hair never had the fortitude to reach. Plus, Guitar Moves sat down with him and outed him for his trademark windmill flail. Each of these are solid credentials but were they enough to prove that he could handle his own album? The answer became a resounding "hit".

      The excellently named opener, "Cartoon Music for Superheroes" gives you a beautiful preview of things to come. In it's brief two minutes it packs in everything you need; lullaby guitar and melodica, straightforward drums, a cloud-like melody and the ability to easily tranquilize a pissed off grizzly bear. The ragged pace of the Strokes was nowhere to be found. Until the next song that is, when "In Transit" proved just how much influence Albert clearly had. A slowed down but familiar Strokes drum beat paces the tune as the guitar line calls out to his four compadres like the Bat Signal. Thankfully though, he continues to make it his own with soaring synths and the sunny production value seen throughout the record. 

      The rest of the album is littered with wondrous pop tunes that manage to expertly straddle the line between "musically good enough to want to share with all my friends" and " someday I plan to play this on repeat for my newborn child as a way to comfort them". Every track stands out and that tends to leave me without a favorite. "Everyone Gets A Star" showcases a ping-pong guitar and drum machine groove.  "Back to the 101" is the another tune that has a Strokesian vibe to it but Albert does plenty to make it his own. "Call an Ambulance" brings out a ukulele and serenely weaves a layered tale of unrequited love. "Scared" has an ambiance built upon gorgeous harmonies and backing vocals coming from none other than Julian Casablancas and Sean Lennon. The closer, "Hard to Live in the City" is packed with jangly guitars, piano and ends with horns that build to a crescendo that makes you want to drop the needle and start the album again.

Hammondsaur Jr.

                           

       In college I became obsessed with playcounts in iTunes. Spending the majority of my time in front a computer, it was an easy way to quantify which songs I liked the most, a tome to my dedication. Thankfully this single mindedness didn't entirely prevent me from exploring what albums sound like, something many people have forgotten today. That used to be the only way to listen. Looking back, it's sad to see that I had fallen into the trap too, playcounts proving I was only playing one or two songs off an album. This is not one of those albums. Every track has the practically the same number of plays. In an age of skips and shuffle, this is a true rarity. It's an album that I put on and listen to front to back, every time. 

       Yours to Keep is a tour de force of supremely catchy power pop, infectious melodies and layered songwriting that any artist would be proud to call their own. It's one of the few albums I own that is so bright it honestly and truly lifts my mood every time I put it on (which may say things my psychiatrist will one day break to me gently). The combination of the songwriting and production give the album a light, airy and luminescent feeling that resonates deeply within me. I plowed through this repeatedly at a time when a lot of things were changing, unstable and uncertain in my world. Life may have been rocky but I always had this 35 minute respite to fall back on. Without getting too touchy and or feelie, that's a pretty cool thing to have, especially when it's something you can bring with you into adulthood. 

        

Final Score: .90 You're Living All Over Me's