Casually
solid second Stroke's solo shot
With
his second record, Strokes’ guitarman Albert Hammond, Jr.
demonstrates that his solo career is notable in its own right.
While
the songwriting varies across
¿Como Te Llama?'s 13
cuts, on tracks like the workmanlike opener “Bargain of the
Century,” Hammond sounds like a one-man Strokes with vocals
ironically more sympathetic than most of what Julian Casablancas
usually musters, but with a casual fuzz to the production that
continually coos “easygoing side project.” Even when Hammond
vamps on “Victory at Monterey” or gets his skronk-funk on at the
start of “Borrowed Time,” everything is austere but cozy.
In
some moments, though, it’s a bit too easygoing, such on as the
seven-minute-plus instrumental “Spooky Couch,” which, while
structurally pretty, is easily five minutes too long. On the other
songs that are less overtly fixated on the six string, though, it’s
actually the guitar that often stands out—the searing licks on “The
Boss Americana” makes its Raspberryisms that much cooler. For
guitarheads, ¿Como
Te Llama?makes for a nifty Fender
Stratocaster tonal demo. For more general fans, it’s a relaxingly
unfocused but usually enjoyable effort.