Albert Hammond Jr.: Yours to Keep

Label: New Line

The first solo album from a member of the Strokes arrives like the unexpectedly charming sequel to a classic ‘80s movie: so lacking in pretension, completely underrated and awesomely enjoyable even for the hundreth time. Most important of all, Yours to Keep all sounds fuzzily like some of your favorite guilty pleasures. It’s the Strokes, Scott Baio, the Beach Boys and Xanadu all rolled together. Yes, some of the songs could fit perfectly on a Strokes album, but at the same time they live in sunny California, blue skied and clear instead of the smokey remnants of the divey Lower East Side bar you used to go. Hammond is like a modern day Brill Building songwriter or even a Robert Pollard, seemingly able to write perfect pop with great ease. He even ends with two completely pleasurable covers, Guided by Voices’ “Postal Blowfish” and Buddy Holly’s “Well… Alright.” (Carey)