
VIDEO FOR ALBERT HAMMOND, JR.’S “STRANGE TIDINGS” SET TO PREMIERE ON VEVO JANUARY 27, TEASER STREAMING NOW
ON TOUR NOW WITH JAKE BUGG
AHJ OUT NOW, VINYL AVAILABLE IN STORES
FROM JANUARY 27
CRITICS CONTINUE TO HAIL AHJ
“Taut, razor’s edge rock riffs with miles of emotion beneath the metered minimalism…”
—The New York Times
“[Hammond, Jr.] sounds fully recharged…howling his best vocals ever over stuttering,
futuristic riffs of ‘St. Justice,’ the manic grooves of ‘Rude Customer’
and the anthemic ‘Cooker Ship.’”—Rolling Stone
“Tight, snappy, emotionally direct songcraft…[Hammond, Jr.] brings a convincing
poignancy and urgency.”—Pitchfork
“Classic Albert: nimble, instantly memorable…makes our heart hurt a little.”—Noisey
“Rife with incessant high-range guitar work, mechanistic rhythms and
shrugging, swaggering vocals.”—Stereogum
Vevo is premiering the video for Albert Hammond, Jr.’s “Strange Tidings” on January 27. The new video is the third from his acclaimed AHJ EP, out now on Cult Records. A teaser for the video is available via Cult Records (http://bit.ly/StrangeTidingsTeaser). The video was shot in Paris with director Laurent Briet during Hammond, Jr.’s recent European tour.
Hammond, Jr. is currently on tour with English rocker Jake Bugg following solo U.S. and European tours including a sold-out U.K. run. The string of live dates celebrates Hammond, Jr.’s new EP, praised by The Hollywood Reporter as “…easily Hammond, Jr.’s best solo work to date.” The EP will be available on vinyl in stores from January 27.
AHJ premiered streaming in its entirety on Rolling Stone (http://rol.st/16JSvnw), while track “Rude Customer” premiered on BBC Radio 1 as Zane Lowe’s Hottest Record in The World. Hammond, Jr. recently performed “St. Justice” on the “Late Show with David Letterman” (http://bit.ly/1gWg5OK).
The video for first single “St. Justice” premiered on Noisey (http://bit.ly/1aRMBw1), while the video for track “Carnal Cruise” premiered on Complex (http://bit.ly/JaV7jZ).
The new EP follows Hammond, Jr.’s previous solo efforts, 2006’s Yours to Keep, which NME called “…an intimate, frequently beautiful and consistently surprising record that gets better with every listen,” and 2008’s¿Cómo Te Llama?. Of the new EP’s relationship with his earlier releases, Hammond, Jr. says, “It’s a combination of both previous recordings, which in turn makes it feel like it’s the best material that I’ve made so far.”
AHJ was produced, engineered and mixed by Grammy-winning producer Gus Oberg and recorded at Hammond, Jr.’s two studios, Broome Street in Manhattan and One Way Studios in upstate New York. Of working with Oberg, Hammond, Jr. says “I’ve been working with him since my first solo project, after we met and became best friends. We get along and we understand each other musically, so everything just flows.” Hammond, Jr. played all of the instruments on the EP himself, excluding drums on several tracks, which were played by longtime collaborator Matthew Frank Romano.
Since the release of ¿Cómo Te Llama?, Hammond, Jr. has released two critically acclaimed albums with The Strokes, 2011’s Angles and this year’s Comedown Machine. Of his inspirations for AHJ, Hammond, Jr. said, “Once you play music for a living, you’re always thinking about stuff. Conversations with friends and things you hear in movies—things come up and become lyrics. Hearing other people’s songs becomes like competition—you hear something and mentally you want to beat it. Life in general is pretty inspiring.”
Cult Records is helmed by Julian Casablancas. In addition to Albert Hammond, Jr., releases include Cerebral Ballzy, Exclamation Pony, Rey Pila, Reputante and more.
ALBERT HAMMOND, JR. TOUR DATES
January 21 Vancouver, BC Orpheum Annex Theater*
January 22 Portland, OR McMenamin’s Crystal Ballroom*
January 23 Oakland, CA Fox Theater*
January 24 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern*
January 28 Dallas, TX House of Blues*
January 29 Houston, TX House of Blues*
January 31 New York, NY Roseland Ballroom†
*with Jake Bugg
†with The Black Keys