Sound Machine Dream

That's the big question with Albert Hammond, Jr's sophomore release Cómo Te Llama, is he finding his sound? In his first release, Yours To Keep he played with the blending of folk sounds with pop and rock noises. Now it appears that he's cleaned up his sounds a little. The whole business seems a little tighter in the tracks. Although his tunes are still haunted with the precise instrument sounds that help define The Strokes, Albert seems to be experimenting more with what kind of sound defines himself.



I think the joy of listening to his music, is that nothing ever quite feels finished. The songs still have that demo-esque quality about them, like the slightly MIDI sounding beats on the third track, Lisa, as if he just needed to get the songs down on tape, and then iron out kinks when they play them live. As a result each song still feels fresh when you listen to it, and you almost expect that there will be something different then next time you listen.



Still I have to say that my favourite track is number seven, Spooky Couch. The title fits the piece perfectly, and this lengthy instrumental makes me feel like I'm floating in space.