Stretching his legs outside the day job, Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr., has put together an impressive set of songs that aim for a slightly more rarified plane than his usual fare. Although he adopts the affectless vocals of a non-singer, he takes his guitar on some cool excursions. Highlights include "Bright Young Thing," which has an unrestrained and swoon-inducing sweep, and "Holiday," featuring textured guitar sounds and gauzy, filtered vocals that transport and uplift.
The son of 1970s pop star and hit songwriter Albert Hammond (best known for the hits "It Never Rains In Southern California" and "When I Need You") and the rhythm guitarist in the Strokes, Albert Hammond Jr. makes his solo debut with the charming YOURS TO KEEP. Removed from the drop-dead New York cool of his day job, Hammond reveals himself to be a man after his father's easygoing SoCal heart. The original songs on YOURS TO KEEP are largely sunny pop tunes with strong echoes of post-SMILEY SMILE Beach Boys and Lindsey Buckingham's quirkier tunes with Fleetwood Mac. This American edition adds two covers not found on the 2006 British version--Guided By Voices' "Postal Blowfish" and Buddy Holly's "Well All Right."

Spin (p.94) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A]n appealingly low-key solo debut....Top-shelf indie-pop tunes."
Entertainment Weekly (p.106) - "[A] mellow debut, with its sweetly yearning melodies and modest arrangements that often recall Guided by Voices." -- Grade: B+
Alternative Press (p.152) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- He kicks off the first Strokes solo effort with a melancholy, space-age lullaby and channels the Beatles' early stabs at Dylan on the unplugged 'Blue Skies.'"
Magnet (p.99) - "Studded with bells and vocal echoes, folky torch song 'Blue Skies' is startlingly intimate and gentle....YOURS TO KEEP is a delightful surprise."
Magnet (p.99) - "Studded with bells and vocal echoes, folky torch song 'Blue Skies' is startlingly intimate and gentle....YOURS TO KEEP is a delightful surprise."