It’s like the Strokes with a double shot of sugar on top when their mop-topped six-string slinger Albert Hammond Jr. kicks it on the solo tip. Familiar are his clear-eyed and thematic guitar lines intertwined with rhythmic and jangle-heavy riffing, but his eager, optimistic vocal style and hopeful lyricism are a far cry from Julian Casablanca’s world-weary mutterings. Junior’s solo LP, Yours to Keep, is a giddy collection of feel-good power-pop rock that strikes a charming balance between Is This It? and Get the Knack. Taking a night off from wooing the alterna-teen set by opening for Incubus on their current tour, Hammond hits L.A. right in the heart with this Valentine’s night one-off for hipsters in love (or those who at least still believe in it). Now c’mon and get happy!
(Originally published in the LA Weekly, 2/07)
1 comments:
You write very well.
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