Taken from his solo album Yours To Keep, Strokes
guitarist Albert Hammond Jr prepares his own assault
on the charts while making a determined effort to
assure everyone he's not about to leave the band that
has defined the sound of the noughties.
Unsurprisingly guitar-led with an irritatingly
catchy riff, 101 is less spiky than the Strokes, as
though Hammond has smoothed out the rough edges to
head off in a more MOR direction with his sights on
the Coldplay market. It sounds good for it though and
his voice is easily strong enough to carry a career of
his own, smooth and assured with the air of a man who
not only has nothing to prove but who also knows that
if the fickle music public do decide to be indifferent
he can always head home to one of the best bands of
the decade instead. Mind you, if the number of times
you can watch him recording 101 on YouTube is anything
to go by, public indifference doesn't enter into the
equation.
On the basis of this, it's unlikely he'll need to
fall back on Julian and the lads for a paycheck.
Whether this turns out to be good news or bad news for
the future of The Strokes remains to be seen.
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