Biography
Independent of his role in the Strokes, Albert Hammond, Jr. channels his efforts into separate projects that lean more wide-ranging and introspective. The 2006 solo debut Yours to Keep found the singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist shaping bittersweet pop that aligned him with songwriters extending from Buddy Holly and the Beach Boys through Guided by Voices. String arrangements entered the picture alongside rock suited to his primary group on the ambitious 2008 release ¿Como Te Llama?, while 2015’s Momentary Masters supplied precisely crafted guitar pop. His work later turned more revealing, as 2018’s Francis Trouble examined identity crises of every magnitude and 2023’s Melodies on Hiatus surveyed favored genres including hip-hop while contemplating the fragments that compose an entire life.
Born in Los Angeles, Hammond, son of singer/songwriter Albert Hammond whose hits encompass “It Never Rains in Southern California,” “When I Need You,” and “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before,” picked up the guitar at age nine. During his teenage years he attended the renowned Swiss boarding school Le Institut le Rosey, where he first encountered future Strokes singer Julian Casablancas. Upon relocating to New York City in 1998 to enroll in New York University’s film school, he renewed contact with Casablancas and ultimately joined the Strokes as the fifth and final member. The band emerged among the most acclaimed acts of the early 2000s; the 2001 debut Is This It earned widespread acclaim and platinum certification in the U.S., U.K., and additional territories, and the 2003 follow-up Room on Fire achieved gold status in the U.S. and platinum certification in the U.K. and Australia. Although Casablancas wrote the majority of the group’s material, Hammond co-wrote Room on Fire’s “Automatic Stop” and contributed songs featured on the Strokes’ 2001 tour video In Transit.
Hammond first ventured beyond the band in October 2005, teaming with Ben Kweller for a rendition of the Beatles’ “Wait” included on This Bird Has Flown: A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles’ Rubber Soul. After the Strokes completed touring behind their third album, 2006’s First Impressions of Earth, Hammond turned to his solo debut. Released in October 2006 in the U.K. and March 2007 in the U.S., Yours to Keep incorporated reworked versions of the In Transit tracks plus appearances by Casablancas, Kweller, Sean Lennon, Fountains of Wayne’s Jody Porter, bassist Josh Lattanzi, and drummer Matt Romano as his core collaborators. Titled after a Guided by Voices song from Bee Thousand, the album climbed to number 11 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart and registered on the U.K. and France charts as well. Hammond toured alongside Bloc Party, the Mooney Suzuki, and Incubus before returning to Electric Lady Studios in late 2007 to record his second album. Lennon, the Mooney Suzuki’s Marc Philippe Eskenazi, and Longwave’s Steve Schlitz joined the sessions for July 2008’s ¿Como Te Llama?. Covering sunny indie-pop, Strokes-style rock, and string-laden ballads, it reached number 20 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart and, like its predecessor, also appeared on the U.K. and French Albums Charts.
Following the Strokes’ reunion for 2011’s Angles and 2013’s Comedown Machine, several years elapsed before Hammond resumed solo activity. Co-produced by Strokes collaborator Gus Oberg and issued via Casablancas’ Cult Records imprint, October 2013’s EP AHJ showcased some of Hammond’s most concentrated vocal and songwriting work. The next year he began preparations for his third solo album. Rejoining Oberg and his supporting musicians—guitarists Mikey Hart and Hammarsing Kharhmar, bassist Jordan Brooks, and drummer Jeremy Gustin—he completed Momentary Masters, which surfaced in July 2015. The album sustained the meticulously shaped guitar pop of AHJ and reached number 20 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart. In 2016 Hammond rejoined the Strokes for the Future Present Past EP and accompanying tour. Late in 2017 he supplied a cover of Vera Lynn’s “The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot” that wove in the chorus of George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” for Amazon’s Indie for the Holidays series. For his fourth album he once again partnered with Oberg, drawing inspiration from his stillborn twin to shape songs of loss and identity that formed March 2018’s Francis Trouble. Attaining number 25 on the Independent Albums chart, Francis Trouble contained “Muted Beatings,” a radio success in Mexico, and “Far Away Truths,” which climbed to number 24 on the U.S. Alternative Airplay chart. Ahead of a western U.S. tour, Hammond released the single “Fast Times” in 2019; a second single, “More to Life,” followed later that year.
In 2020 the Strokes resurfaced with the Grammy-winning album The New Abnormal, while Hammond also appeared on the Struts’ “Another Hit of Showmanship.” For his fifth solo album, June 2023’s Melodies on Hiatus, he shifted direction once more. Hammond partnered with poet Simon Wilcox on the album’s lyrics and enlisted rapper Goldlink for the single “100-99.” Incorporating influences such as disco and new wave alongside hip-hop, Melodies on Hiatus further featured Arctic Monkeys’ Matt Helders, Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens, and Rainsford.
Born in Los Angeles, Hammond, son of singer/songwriter Albert Hammond whose hits encompass “It Never Rains in Southern California,” “When I Need You,” and “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before,” picked up the guitar at age nine. During his teenage years he attended the renowned Swiss boarding school Le Institut le Rosey, where he first encountered future Strokes singer Julian Casablancas. Upon relocating to New York City in 1998 to enroll in New York University’s film school, he renewed contact with Casablancas and ultimately joined the Strokes as the fifth and final member. The band emerged among the most acclaimed acts of the early 2000s; the 2001 debut Is This It earned widespread acclaim and platinum certification in the U.S., U.K., and additional territories, and the 2003 follow-up Room on Fire achieved gold status in the U.S. and platinum certification in the U.K. and Australia. Although Casablancas wrote the majority of the group’s material, Hammond co-wrote Room on Fire’s “Automatic Stop” and contributed songs featured on the Strokes’ 2001 tour video In Transit.
Hammond first ventured beyond the band in October 2005, teaming with Ben Kweller for a rendition of the Beatles’ “Wait” included on This Bird Has Flown: A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles’ Rubber Soul. After the Strokes completed touring behind their third album, 2006’s First Impressions of Earth, Hammond turned to his solo debut. Released in October 2006 in the U.K. and March 2007 in the U.S., Yours to Keep incorporated reworked versions of the In Transit tracks plus appearances by Casablancas, Kweller, Sean Lennon, Fountains of Wayne’s Jody Porter, bassist Josh Lattanzi, and drummer Matt Romano as his core collaborators. Titled after a Guided by Voices song from Bee Thousand, the album climbed to number 11 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart and registered on the U.K. and France charts as well. Hammond toured alongside Bloc Party, the Mooney Suzuki, and Incubus before returning to Electric Lady Studios in late 2007 to record his second album. Lennon, the Mooney Suzuki’s Marc Philippe Eskenazi, and Longwave’s Steve Schlitz joined the sessions for July 2008’s ¿Como Te Llama?. Covering sunny indie-pop, Strokes-style rock, and string-laden ballads, it reached number 20 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart and, like its predecessor, also appeared on the U.K. and French Albums Charts.
Following the Strokes’ reunion for 2011’s Angles and 2013’s Comedown Machine, several years elapsed before Hammond resumed solo activity. Co-produced by Strokes collaborator Gus Oberg and issued via Casablancas’ Cult Records imprint, October 2013’s EP AHJ showcased some of Hammond’s most concentrated vocal and songwriting work. The next year he began preparations for his third solo album. Rejoining Oberg and his supporting musicians—guitarists Mikey Hart and Hammarsing Kharhmar, bassist Jordan Brooks, and drummer Jeremy Gustin—he completed Momentary Masters, which surfaced in July 2015. The album sustained the meticulously shaped guitar pop of AHJ and reached number 20 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart. In 2016 Hammond rejoined the Strokes for the Future Present Past EP and accompanying tour. Late in 2017 he supplied a cover of Vera Lynn’s “The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot” that wove in the chorus of George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” for Amazon’s Indie for the Holidays series. For his fourth album he once again partnered with Oberg, drawing inspiration from his stillborn twin to shape songs of loss and identity that formed March 2018’s Francis Trouble. Attaining number 25 on the Independent Albums chart, Francis Trouble contained “Muted Beatings,” a radio success in Mexico, and “Far Away Truths,” which climbed to number 24 on the U.S. Alternative Airplay chart. Ahead of a western U.S. tour, Hammond released the single “Fast Times” in 2019; a second single, “More to Life,” followed later that year.
In 2020 the Strokes resurfaced with the Grammy-winning album The New Abnormal, while Hammond also appeared on the Struts’ “Another Hit of Showmanship.” For his fifth solo album, June 2023’s Melodies on Hiatus, he shifted direction once more. Hammond partnered with poet Simon Wilcox on the album’s lyrics and enlisted rapper Goldlink for the single “100-99.” Incorporating influences such as disco and new wave alongside hip-hop, Melodies on Hiatus further featured Arctic Monkeys’ Matt Helders, Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens, and Rainsford.
Albums