It must be tough bringing out a solo album while you're still part of a globally-successful band, not to mention being the son of a well-known artist in-his-own-right. Not only is your material presumptuously deemed to be of inferior quality, but it's rare that 'side-projects' are taken seriously (unless you're Thom Yorke, that is).Still, Albert Hammond, Jr. (afro, suit, quiet one that stands in the corner) hasn't let such prejudices stop him, and Yours to Keep pays testament to the creed that you should plough your own furrow if you think the crop is worth it. If a picture paints a thousand words, the sleeve art of YTK renders the rest of this review redundant; though very sweet and thoroughly charming (a watercolour scene featuring illustrated cartoon beavers, rabbits and ducks), it seems more suited to a nursery wall than the facade of a supposedly tough, icy-cool guitarist. But that's the joy of Yours To Keep. Anyone expecting brazen indie or Strokes-lite embezzlement is in for a nasty surprise; while there is undoubtedly a kindred bond to both on some tracks (101's soft retro fuzz, In Transit's tinny, elementary drumming), Hammond pulls one refreshing surprise after another out of the bag. Cartoon Music for Superheroes has a Peter Bjorn and John-esque dreamlike quality about it, its soft scuff and Spector-ish production similarly striking and tender; Bright Young Thing's sweet piano interlude twinkle forth, and Call An Ambulance's dippy bounce is as good as anything Ben Kweller has ever put out. Hammond doesn't draw on his folk roots much either, though; apart from the quasi-blues and austere acoustic number Blue Skies, Yours To Keep maintains a blithe liveliness, helped along by an all-star cast including Sean Lennon, Kweller and bandmate Casablancas. So then: if you're looking for big, ballsy rock, aloof indie or too-cool-for-school scenester static, stick with The Strokes. If, on the other hand, you're of the belief that something should be judged on its own merits, then this one is definitely a Keeper.
