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a r t i s t :: Albert Hammond Jr.
t i t l e :: Momentary Masters
d a t e :: 2015-00-00
l a b e l :: Vagrant
g e n r e :: Alternative
s o u r c e :: CD
b i t r a t e :: 961 kbps avg
e n c o d e r :: FLAC 1.2.1 -8 -V
t r a c k s :: 10
p l a y t i m e :: 35:46
s i z e :: 245.1MB
tracklist
1 Born Slippy 4:07
2 Power Hungry 3:48
3 Caught By My Shadow 3:03
4 Coming to Getcha 3:26
5 Losing Touch 3:54
6 Don't Think Twice 4:36
7 Razor's Edge 3:05
8 TouchΘ 3:04
9 Drunched In Crumbs 2:56
10 Side Boob 3:47
releasenotes
Unlike so many instantly iconic rock phenomena before them, the Strokes
didnÆt
so much turn boring as frustrating. From 2006Æs First Impressions of Earth
onward, theyÆve sounded like a band constantly second-guessing itselfùone that
knows it has to evolve beyond a signature sound, but unwilling to commit to a
direction. That erratic behavior has extended to frontman Julian CasablancasÆ
sideline pursuits, whether it as a Daft Punk-approved synth-pop singer or
polarizing prog-punk provocateur. But the solo career of guitarist Albert
Hammond Jr. has emerged as a beaming ray of light poking through these
turbulent skiesùas his main band sounds more confused with each new album, his
own songwriting has turned more precise and concise.
That said, the refinement in HammondÆs work is less a reaction to the Strokes
than the result of significant changes in his personal life. In contrast to
the art-pop aspirations that fuelled his first two solo albums, HammondÆs 2013
EP, AHJ, was a slight, scrappy four-song affair. But it bore the weight of
considerable baggage: he spent much of the recordÆs press cycle coming clean
about going clean, kicking a prolonged addiction to cocaine, heroin, and
ketamine he claimed was draining him of $2,000 a week. If AHJ was a tentative
toe-dip back into solo recording, Momentary Masters is a confident full-body
dive.
Like its predecessor, the new album isnÆt afraid to draw comparisons to
HammondÆs day job; rather than try to establish an identity separate from the
Strokes, it reasserts the carefree charm and hooky immediacy thatÆs gotten
lost amid the bandÆs latter-day experimentation. And unlike, say, Angles or
Comedown Machine, Momentary Masters manages to inject a little funk and
finesse into the StrokesÆ wiry rock schematic without forcing the issue,
interlocking HammondÆs signature, spidery fills with "Tetris"-tight rhythms
that will have you double-checking the liner notes to see if Nikolai Fraiture
and Fabrizio Moretti were recruited for the record. (They were notùthatÆs
AHJ-era touring bassist Jordan Brooks and drummer Jeremy Gustin doing the
yeomanÆs work.)
For an album reportedly inspired by Carl Sagan, the 10-song, 36-minute
Momentary Masters is remarkably lean and focused. The title refers to the
famed astronomerÆs description of our infinitesimal standing in the universe
at large; it could also scan as a comment on the StrokesÆ own experience as
one-time hype magnets, and the struggle to stay relevant after the spotlight
points somewhere else. "Sometimes, the sun goes behind the clouds/ YouÆll
forget the warmth that could be found," he laments on the opening "Born
Slippy"ùnot a cover of the Underworld classic, but perhaps an oblique,
cautionary evocation of that trackÆs hedonistic Trainspotting associations. If
the song draws from the same well of influences as the Strokesùthe chorus is
even underpinned by a rewrite of the "Marquee Moon" riffùHammond forsakes
CasablancasÆ disaffected cool for a down-to-earth humility befitting of a
former next big thing, and the seize-the-day urgency of a recovering addict
who no longer takes anything for granted. And just when you think youÆve got a
handle on the songÆs A/B structure, Hammond introduces subtle but substantial
changesùa pointillist guitar-solo breakdown, new variations on the chorus
melodyùthat transform the songÆs scale from modest to majestic.
At the outset, Momentary Masters suggests a parallel history for the Strokes
if they had signed to DFA instead of RCA, with the louche groove and
synthesized disco strings of "Power Hungry" bridging the early-2000s divide
between L.E.S. rock dives and Williamsburg warehouse parties. The album even
boasts a spiritual successor to "Losing My Edge" in "Losing Touch", though,
buoyed by the songÆs spirited new-wave sprint and towering chorus, Hammond
sounds happy to be leaving hipsterdom behind. That sentiment is reinforced in
more plaintive fashion on a drum-machined cover of Bob DylanÆs "DonÆt Think
Twice, ItÆs Alright", which initially seems like an outlier on the album, but
proves to be its thematic centerpiece. Embracing the songÆs donÆt-look-back
sentiment, Hammond blazes through Momentary MastersÆ breathless second half
with a series of direct-hit power-pop pick-me-ups that channels the
guttersnipe grittiness of vintage Strokesùfrom the double-timed "Modern Age"
stomp of "Razors Edge" to the "I CanÆt Win" echoes of "Side Boob"ùbut with a
tuneful flamboyance that reminds you Hammond is the biggest Guided by Voices
fan in the group. (And, no doubt, Bob Pollard would approve of a nonsensically
evocative title like "Drunched in Crumbs".) "Now that weÆre not perfect, we
have to be good," Hammond sings on "TouchΘ", like someone whoÆs being
extra-careful to not squander their second lease on life, but whoÆs liberated
from the pressures and anxieties that drive one to bad habits in the first
place. As the songÆs taut rhythmic drive loosens into a gloriously goofy
chicken-scratched guitar solo, Hammond reinforces the notion that, while
rock'n'roll may be the gateway to a lifetime of vice, it can also be the most
effective form of rehab.
https://www.facebook.com/AHJofficial
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