Albert Hammond Jr – Melodies On Hiatus
Albert Hammond Jr’s New Solo Album ‘Melodies On Hiatus’ is Out Now
June 23, 2023—Melodies On Hiatus, the highly-anticipated new solo album from Albert Hammond Jr—globally renowned guitarist, singer-songwriter and founding member of the Grammy Award-winning band The Strokes—is out today via Red Bull Records—get it here.
“I’m going through changes and these songs reflect behaviors and moments of mine that—as time has gone on—have taken shape and become universal,” Hammond Jr explains. “I get asked about the meaning or big picture of this album, but it’s just that writing songs and creating is who I am and feels like why I exist. My goal is to have my music be part of someone’s life, part of their fabric, and this feels like the best collection of music I’ve made and my best attempt at achieving that.”
Additionally, Hammond Jr unveils the video for “One Chance” today—watch here. Directed by Angela Ricciardi and Silken Weinberg, the new video is the next in a series of episodic videos following “Memo of Hate,” “100-99” featuring GoldLink and “Old Man.”
Hammond Jr will embark on the On Hiatus Tour this fall with multiple sold-out stops in New York and Los Angeles and support from Rainsford—see full routing below and get tickets here.
With contributions from GoldLink, Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys) and Rainsford, Melodies on Hiatus features production by Gus Oberg and was co-written remotely with Simon Wilcox, mixed by Tony Hoffer (Beck, Air, M83, Metric, Chromeo) and mastered by Dave Cooley (Paramore, Spoon, Tame Impala, Jimmy Eat World). Read Hammond Jr’s first interview about the new album with The FADER here and a recent interview with Stereogum here.
With over 185 million lifetime streams, Albert Hammond Jr has released four solo albums including Yours to Keep (2006), ¿Cómo Te Llama? (2008), Momentary Masters (2015) and Francis Trouble (2018). His critically acclaimed work has been praised by outlets including NPR, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Stereogum and many others. He’s also performed on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and at a host of major festivals including Lollapalooza, Governors Ball, Primavera Sound and more.
ALBERT HAMMOND JR—MELODIES ON HIATUS
- 100-99 feat. GoldLink
- Downtown Fred
- Old Man
- Darlin’
- Thoughtful Distress feat. Matt Helders & Steve Stevens
- Libertude
- Memo of Hate
- Home Again
- I Got You
- Caught by Night
- Dead Air
- One Chance
- Remember feat. Rainsford
- 818
- Fast Kitten
- I’d Never Leave
- Never Stop
- False Alarm
- Alright Tomorrow feat. Rainsford
Albert Hammond Jr Announces Album ‘Melodies On Hiatus’ Out June 23
Melodies On Hiatus, the new solo album from acclaimed vocalist, songwriter and guitarist Albert Hammond Jr of the Grammy-winning group The Strokes, is slated for release on June 23 via Red Bull Records—pre-order it here. Today, the first track, “100-99” featuring GoldLink, debuts alongside a video directed by Angela Ricciardi and Silken Weinberg— watch here.
“I grew up listening to 90s hip-hop, and I would always gravitate towards the melodic hooks in the songs I heard on the radio, specifically anything Dr. Dre was producing or rapping on,” Hammond Jr says about the new track. “Years later, I noticed myself pulling from the style of those melodic lines in my guitar work, even though it wasn’t obvious to anyone else as I was so directly associated with being in a rock band. ‘100-99’ was something I’ve wanted to do for some time—work with a rapper over a beat and guitar part I wrote—and it’s really exciting that I was able to do it with GoldLink.”
“When we first met with Albert, it was clear we were all on the same page: we wanted to have fun and we wanted to experiment with simple concepts that tell a deeper story,” Ricciardi and Weinberg say about the video. “The album is 19 tracks, it’s sprawling but interconnected in a special kind of way, and we wanted to maintain that visually as well. The five videos we made for Melodies on Hiatus take place in a series of rooms all within one larger space, different scenes that string together one very long night. Throughout the entire process, Albert was so open and kind, he trusted us, and it cultivated a really pure, almost psychedelic environment.”