Albert Hammond, Jr., Yours to Keep.

Albert Hammond, Jr., Yours to Keep.
5.3

Like most people, Albert Hammond, Jr., has a dad (and like most juniors, his dad's name is roughly the same as his). In 1972, Albert Hammond (Sr.) wrote a song called "It Never Rains in Southern California," which despite being demonstrably untrue, is one of my all-time, top 50, favorite songs. Furthermore, Albert Hammond, Jr., has made a name for himself as the lead guitarist for the Strokes, a band with the curious legacy of having one better-than-average album, one average album, and one below-average album, in quick succession (they embody downwards decline, which is sad).

I was more than a little bit excited to finally listen to this album, and I was wrong to be excited.

There's nothing inherently wrong with the record, per se. It's not necessarily bad; it's just boring. It's an utterly unremarkable set of songs, played with a workmanlike stoicism. "Blue Skies" sounds like a Wilco song with no soul, and the lead riff to "Back to the 101" reminds me of that Hilary Duff song where she wakes up on a Saturday night. It's just a blandly inoffensive little collection, in the absolute worst possible way. The Guided by Voices tune that this shares a name with is better on its own than the totality of this record.

Oh well. At least it never rains in Southern California. There's always that.