ALBERT HAMMOND JR
Performs “SET TO ATTACK”
on THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN +
New album FRANCIS TROUBLE out now
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“Dark, yet lovely.” – Paste Magazine
“… an album that rings with renewed energy.” – DIY Magazine
“Good ol’ fashioned guitar-pop.” – Stereogum
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Following a North American tour with The Killers and currently on a UK & European tour with Franz Ferdinand, Albert Hammond Jr has shared a new track “Far Away Truths” from his forthcoming album Francis Trouble. The fourth studio album from the singer/songwriter and guitarist with New York City legends The Strokes will be available globally on Friday 9th March via Red Bull Records. Fans can pre-order the album now and receive instant download of “Far Away Truths” and first single “Muted Beatings”.
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Francis Trouble explores a deeply personal topic – the stillborn death of his twin brother, Francis, and the lingering effects that event has had in his life and music. In November of 1979, Hammond Jr’s mother, Claudia, miscarried. Although they rushed to the hospital, Claudia and Albert Hammond Sr. were told that the baby was far too premature to live. Albert continued to grow inside of his mother undetected until she was nearly six months pregnant.
Although he had always known of the existence of Francis, it was not until he was 36 years old that he learned from an aunt that part of Francis had remained behind in the womb and was born alongside him – a fingernail. With his music moving in a different path than before, Hammond Jr wondered if this new direction came from another avenue of himself, perhaps emanating from whatever he and the departed Francis had shared for the few short months they had together.
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Taking a page from Bowie, Hammond Jr says: “What the music says may be serious, but as a medium it should not be questioned, analyzed or taken too seriously. I think it should be tarted up, made into a character, a parody of itself. The music is the mask the message wears and I, the performer, am the message.”
Working within this mentality, Hammond Jr created Francis Trouble, an homage to both the death of his twin and his own birth, as well as the complexities of identity that arise because of their intermingling. The number 36 became especially relevant, as he had learned more of Francis’s story at that age, and because he was born on the 9th day of the 4th month of the year. Significantly, the album is exactly 36 minutes long.
To celebrate the release of Francis Trouble, Hammond Jr will be performing as special guest for Franz Ferdinand in Europe and the UK in addition to a headline London set, followed by a 27-date headline North American tour including four performances at SXSW.
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For more info on ALBERT HAMMOND JR, follow all his socials here
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AMNPLIFY – MV
