Strokes' Hammond steps out with second solo set

By Mikael Wood

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. says he never really set out to record his solo debut, "Yours to Keep."

"It was more about just leaving the safety of my home and making something more than demos," he says of the album, which arrived in 2006 in England on Rough Trade and hit American stores early last year via Scratchie/New Line.

"By the end of the process," he adds, "I had sort of finished an album, and it was like, 'Holy s--t, here's a band.' It was very exciting, so we started touring."

Hammond's intentions for "Como Te Llama?" (out July 8 on RCA's new Black Seal imprint) were somewhat firmer. While on the road supporting "Yours to Keep" -- playing 130 shows in nine months, per Hammond's estimation, including a North American tour with Incubus -- he began writing the songs he knew would end up forming his second solo set. "I had in mind that I was going into the studio to make a record with other players," he says, "and that gave everything a different feel."

But not too different. "Llama," which Hammond and his sidemen recorded in five weeks at Manhattan's famed Electric Lady Studios, still emphasizes the bandleader's knack for tuneful indie pop. But with its bright guitar jangle and occasional soul and reggae flashes, the album is a little less scrappy than its predecessor.

Hammond says he's committed to supporting "Llama" through January, at which point "there's talk about doing some Strokes thing."

According to Nielsen SoundScan, "Yours to Keep" has sold 33,000 copies in the United States. Hammond has told RCA execs that they shouldn't look for an instant return on their investment. "I'm trying to build a career, so it's not about what happens in the first month," he says.

Reuters/Billboard