Albert Hammond Jr on his new solo album, working with Matt Helders, and The Strokes’ next move
Albert Hammond Jr has spoken to NME about his new hip-hop-inspired single ‘100-99’, his upcoming solo album ‘Melodies On Hiatus’, working with Arctic Monkeys‘ Matt Helders, and progress on The Strokes’ next record.The guitarist and singer-songwriter shared his latest solo track earlier this week (April 4) and announced details of the new record – which will be his fifth solo album and the follow-up to 2018’s ‘Francis Trouble’.The LP’s first single finds Hammond Jr combining a beat inspired by ‘90s hip-hop and a glacial guitar melody as he sings: “I’m not safe / I’ve made mistakes, I would again / In spite of what it cost me.” It’s a merging of styles that he has wanted to try out for some years.“I’d write riffs and think, ‘I can imagine that looped with a beat and someone rapping over it’,” he told NME. “This song just happened to work [like that].