Como te Llama Review from RS

Albert Hammond Jr.

Como te Llama

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It must be a challenging time to be a Stroke. Since the band first spearheaded a garage-rock revival in the early '00s, indie-rock fans have turned toward groups like Vampire Weekend and Animal Collective, who canoodle with folk, world music and various sorts of experimentalism. On his second solo record, guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. hedges his bets with familiar guitar-pop exercises alongside tracks that find him stretching into uncharacteristic territory. The gentle instrumental "Spooky Couch" flickers with Zimbabwe-style guitar-plinking and a string section. And the tough reggae-rock joint "Borrowed Time" turns into shiny Shins pop on the chorus. There's also a fondness for early Bowie here; check out the opener, "Bargain of the Century," which is juiced by Hammond's churning strum and a Pantone book of lead-guitar colors, and "In My Room," a soured-love lament with brittle, Clash-like riffs and lyrical drama that recalls both Julian Casablancas and the Thin White Duke. May Hammond bring this interesting stuff to the next Strokes planning session.

WILL HERMES