Albert Hammond Jr. has detailed his fifth solo album. The Strokes' lead guitarist will share Melodies on Hiatus on June 23 via Red Bull Records.
Following 2018's Francis Trouble, the 19-track Melodies on Hiatus features collaborations with Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders, Billy Idol's right-hand axeman Steve Stevens, Rainsford (a.k.a. Rainey Qualley) and GoldLink, who appears on album opener "100-99."
You can hear "100-99" alongside a music video directed by Angela Ricciardi and Silken Weinberg. Hammond shared in a statement that the song completes a longtime goal of "[working] with a rapper over a beat and guitar part I wrote," inspired by the hip-hop he listened to in his youth.
He recalls, "I would always gravitate towards the melodic hooks in the songs I heard on the radio, specifically anything Dr. Dre was producing or rapping on. Years later, I noticed myself pulling from the style of those melodic lines in my guitar work, even though it wasn't obvious to anyone else as I was so directly associated with being in a rock band."
In 2020, Hammond and the Strokes delivered The New Abnormal, while last year saw the guitarist speak to a forthcoming follow-up recorded up a mountain with Rick Rubin's magic touch.
Melodies on Hiatus:
1. 100-99 (feat. GoldLink)
2. Downtown Fred
3. Old Man
4. Darlin'
5. Thoughtful Distress (feat. Matt Helders and Steve Stevens)
6. Libertude
7. Memo of Hate
8. Home Again
9. I Got You
10. Caught by Night
11. Dead Air
12. One Chance
13. Remember (feat. Rainsford)
14. 818
15. Fast Kitten
16. I'd Never Leave
17. Never Stop
18. False Alarm
19. Alright Tomorrow (feat. Rainsford)
Following 2018's Francis Trouble, the 19-track Melodies on Hiatus features collaborations with Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders, Billy Idol's right-hand axeman Steve Stevens, Rainsford (a.k.a. Rainey Qualley) and GoldLink, who appears on album opener "100-99."
You can hear "100-99" alongside a music video directed by Angela Ricciardi and Silken Weinberg. Hammond shared in a statement that the song completes a longtime goal of "[working] with a rapper over a beat and guitar part I wrote," inspired by the hip-hop he listened to in his youth.
He recalls, "I would always gravitate towards the melodic hooks in the songs I heard on the radio, specifically anything Dr. Dre was producing or rapping on. Years later, I noticed myself pulling from the style of those melodic lines in my guitar work, even though it wasn't obvious to anyone else as I was so directly associated with being in a rock band."
In 2020, Hammond and the Strokes delivered The New Abnormal, while last year saw the guitarist speak to a forthcoming follow-up recorded up a mountain with Rick Rubin's magic touch.
Melodies on Hiatus:
1. 100-99 (feat. GoldLink)
2. Downtown Fred
3. Old Man
4. Darlin'
5. Thoughtful Distress (feat. Matt Helders and Steve Stevens)
6. Libertude
7. Memo of Hate
8. Home Again
9. I Got You
10. Caught by Night
11. Dead Air
12. One Chance
13. Remember (feat. Rainsford)
14. 818
15. Fast Kitten
16. I'd Never Leave
17. Never Stop
18. False Alarm
19. Alright Tomorrow (feat. Rainsford)