★★★★☆
(Infectious)
The Strokes may have reunited to play a major gig in Hyde Park this summer, but the band’s key members seem more dedicated to solo careers these days. In guitarist Albert Hammond Jr’s case, on his third solo album, it sounds as if a weight of expectation has been lifted. He doesn’t seem to be taking things too seriously, offering titles such as Drunched in Crumbs and Side Boob, and rocking energetically on the pounding Razor’s Edge and the stuttering Caught by my Shadow. There’s a lightness of touch too, on Born Slippy (not the Underworld hit) and a twinkling cover of Bob Dylan’s Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright. This will never be met with as much fanfare as a Strokes comeback, but Hammond sounds more than comfortable on his own.
