Download: Owl and Bear’s Honorable Mention of 2008
Owl and Bear’s list of albums that almost made the cut in 2008.
Albert Hammond Jr. – ¿Cómo Te Llama?
2008, Red Ink
Apparently left restless by the extended vacation taken by his regular band, Strokes rhythm guitarist Albert Hammond decided to go solo. His debut, last year’s Yours To Keep, was a refreshing and superb collection of breezy, perfect pop, free of all the self-consciousness that had plagued the Strokes’ last two albums.
Hammond has never seemed bothered that the spotlight is usually fixed on bandmate Julian Casablancas, and his decision to become a solo artist has never felt like an attention-grab. The songs on Yours To Keep were casual and unpretentious, as if written by accident: the Strokes re-imagined as West Coast beach bums instead of East Coast bohemians. Little more than a year has passed since that record was released, but Hammond is already back with ¿Cómo Te Llama?, an album that attempts to perform the balancing act of increasing the depth of emotion without losing the laid-back vibe.
