Albert Hammond Jr. - "Yours to Keep"
"Don't stop, now that we're almost there, anyway, oh, I'm here for you"
This is my sixth blog entry since starting this project, and to date, the commute part of this project has been rather unremarkable. In past weeks, the drive has been relatively easy and stress free. The sun is fully up this time of year, which does wonders for my mental health during the early morning drive, a stark contrast to commuting in winter’s pitch.
Today’s commute was just a little more noteworthy, however. The flow of traffic wasn’t so much the issue, as were the drivers as a whole. For whatever reason, the motorists on the freeway today were just more aggressive in their speeding, tailgating, and merging into lanes without signaling. It made for a few nerve-wracking moments, especially when already cruising above the speed limit. And for as bright as the sun was this morning, some stretches of road were bathed in fog. It was beautiful, but the aggressive brake testing through these areas gave me extra caution. Thankfully, traffic kept moving without incident. I did my best to drive defensively, and was certainly aided by this album that starts off with a literal lullaby.
where did i get this album?
Before I get into the details of how I learned about this album and where I got it, it’s important to know that Albert Hammond Jr. is the lead guitarist for The Strokes, and this is his solo debut. The Strokes are a prominent indie rock band that cropped up in the early 2000s, largely to critical acclaim. I learned about The Strokes however, from my friend Dave.
Dave was in a band called Cesspool (there will be a few posts about them in the not too distant future) and Dave somewhat-regularly blogged on Cesspool’s MySpace. I read it religiously and it was a foundational influence on my music tastes. From what I can remember, in one post, Dave was lamenting the “death of indie rock”. Dave noted bands like The Shins were more commonly featured in movies like “Garden State” and The Strokes were taking off in popularity. The OC soundtrack was giving an unthinkably large platform to bands like Death Cab for Cutie and Modest Mouse. I had never really heard of these any of these bands or this style of music, but it was already dead, apparently.
Not one to let references to new music go unexplored, dead or otherwise, I hit up Limewire and Kazaa for songs by The Shins and The Strokes. I often couldn’t find and download whole albums, but everything I did get my hands on immediately went onto my iPod. It’s a meme now, but realistically, you could say those songs changed my life.
I fell in love with indie music and started collecting and exploring, almost obsessively. Pitchfork became my go-to website for new music, despite the overly critical reviews. I had found my niche. As a result of finding the Strokes, but needing more, I decided to pick up this album on the strength of “101” and recommendation from Stereogum. I think I bought it at Best Buy, knowing that if I liked the Strokes, I would be sure to enjoy this. I loved “101” but think I was let down by the rest of the album. Thankfully, I still had The Strokes and plenty of other new music to explore, even if I never really kept listening to this album.
what is the deal with this album?
It should come as no surprise, but this sounds more than a little like a Strokes album. It leans on angular, arpeggiated layers of guitars and pulsating drums during its “heavier” moments. On the softer side, it features some psychedelic soundscapes and shimmering, atmospheric keys. Sean Lennon (of that Lennon family) crops up here and there to lend backing vocals for an ethereal, woozy effect (“In Transit”, “Scared”). I found that when Albert Hammond Jr. leads with a strummed guitar, rather than plucked, it gave space for the song structures to really shine.
The lyrics largely slid by me without second thought thought, just the product of another bored, affluent 20-something in New York. Additionally, the vocal prowess is nothing to really write home about, which is understandable given The Strokes prefer to center their music around Julian Casablanca’s somehow-more gravelly tones.
This album is compact and efficient— Spotify lists its 12 songs at just under 40 minutes. The back of the CD case says the first 10 tracks are the album, and two bonus songs are included. Wikipedia tells me those two bonus songs only came out on the North American CD release. The first 10 flow together comprehensively, even if it ends with an unexpected horn section on “Hard to Live in the City”. That felt like I fell into a ska show. The two “bonus tracks” don’t quite fit in with the flow of the rest of the album but were enjoyable, nonetheless. The first of those two is a cover of a song by Guided By Voices, the band that lends this album its name. The final track, “Well… All Right”, incidentally reminds me of the ending to Abbey Road, a quick ditty to cap off a much larger statement.
the bottom line
This album made a tough commute palatable. This was the first time restricting my music choice met its intended effect on my drive. Really, this is why I started this project. I got a chance to reflect on the earliest music I fell in love with while battling the less-than open road in the early morning. It was nice to revisit these songs, like an old friend that comforts you when times are stressful.
Artist: Albert Hammond Jr.
Album: Yours to Keep
Label and Year: New Line Records, 2006
Standout Track: #8, “Scared”
Queued Up: Apples in Stereo’s high-octane electro-pop “New Magnetic Wonder”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Actually, next up is Andrew Bird’s “Armchair Apocrypha”. I must have missed it while I was looking