Search - Albert Hammond Jr. :: Como Te Llama

How does he/she/it call you?

Adrienne Scudero | 07/09/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How does he/she/it call you? is the translation of Como Te Llama in Spanish... So what does that mean? Shouldn't Albert have titled the album ¿Cómo te llamas? This would be asking what's your name? This is all I have read in reviews of this album, and to me, the spanish conjugation of llamar doesn't matter when it comes to this music. Albert has such a distinct voice and style of playing the guitar that you know it's him once you hear him say "It seems it's been such a long time" from the opener Bargain of A Century. You hear the Strokes influences, obviously due to Albert being the rhythm guitarist of the Strokes. But there's something more here...something different than the Strokes. Albert's tails of heartache and happiness can brighten anyone's day. My favorite part of Albert's music is the chord changes. Beautiful melodies and great guitar solos make the music on the album shine. After listening to the album about 20 times, I can't find a song I dislike. I need to look at all of the lyrics to fully understand every song, but if you are looking for a rock-n-roll album that will stay in your CD-player for months, look no further. Out of thirteen tracks on the album, my top 5 are:



5. Bargain of a Century

4. In My Room

3. You Won't Be Fooled By This

2. Feed Me Jack Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Peter Sellers

1. Lisa"

Albert's second album: is it still just a side-project?

Paul Allaer | Cincinnati | 07/16/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Albert Hammond Jr., best known as the Strokes' rhythm guitarist, has really come on strongly since the Strokes have gone on a long (did I say long?) sabbatical following the early 2006 release of their "First Impressions of Earth" album. His first album, the really surprising (in a good way) "Yours To Keep", was released in the UK in late 2006 (and here in the US in early 2007). Now comes the follow-up.



"¿Como Te Llama?" (13 tracks, 46 min.) starts off with a strikingly Strokes-like "Bargain of a Century" and the great tracks just keep on coming: "In My Room", GfC" (first radio single) and "Victory at Monterrey" (reminding me of the Breeders) among others. Regretfully, the flow of the album is almost fatally stopped by a 7+ min. sparse instrumental "Spooky Couch", which goes nowhere and is about 6 min. too long. Thankfully, the tracks that follow restore order: "Borrowed Time", which starts off as an Elvis Costello-like stumper from the 70s, "G Up" (another Strokes-like song), and the closer "Feed Me Jack Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Peter Sellers", a perfectly off-beat but charming way to end the album.



In all, this is a really satisfying album (even despite that "Spooky Couch" clunker), and it makes me really wonder whether this is simply a side-project for Hammond, or "is this it" (given the Strokes' long inactivity, with no sign of new music coming any time soon). The album I got (which I bought here from Amazon) came as a "Deluxe Edition" with an "exclusive sticker" (the cover art but with the guys in the picture) and also a link to download a full length video concert from a show last Fall in New York (which I haven't had time yet to check out)."

Albert Hammond, Jr. - ¿Como Te Llama?

S. D. Mason | Greenville, NC | 09/05/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"¿Como Te Llama? (2008, Red Ink) Albert Hammond, Jr's second studio album. ***



I suppose ¿Como Te Llama? can't be too much of a surprise, Hammond hasn't the artistic integrity or genius to stray too far from what the Strokes do without completely changing genres. To his benefit, he did add some electronic sounds, which, somehow, don't sound too out of place. Like anything the Strokes do, Hammond's solo album starts off great but wears down after awhile, for there's nothing we really haven't heard before, and it becomes nothing more than another generic garage-rock revival piece. Granted, the first two tracks are exhilerating, and the long instrumental "Spooky Couch" is, while seemingly from nowhere, a pleasure to listen to. That being said, the rest of the album is mostly a bore. A decent bore, but still a bore. And by the way, are fans of Hammond going to willingly accept the fact that he blatanlty lifted the vocals for "Lisa" from Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars"? It was a pretty popular song, buddy, I think people might notice."