Albert Hammond Jr has announced details of his new solo album ‘Francis Trouble’. Check out his new single ‘Muted Beatings’ below.

The Strokes guitarist will release his fourth solo album on March 9. The news comes with the release of his huge new single ‘Muted Beatings’ – optimising Hammond’s knack for huge guitar-pop hooks but laden with intricacies aplenty.


Hammond’s new album is set to be his most personal yet, with ‘Francis Trouble’ dealing with the stillborn death of his twin brother Francis.

Francis was lost due to miscarriage, while Hammond continued to grow inside the womb. However, at the age of 36, Hammond learned that part of his brother also remained in the womb and was born alongside him – but just a fingernail.

As a result, this record is “a 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”.

“What the music says may be serious, but as a medium it should not be questioned, analysed or taken too seriously. I think it should be tarted up, made into a character, a parody of itself,” said Hammond of his mindset while making the album. “The music is the mask the message wears and I, the performer, am the message.”

Albert Hammond Jr on tour

Hammond’s upcoming tour dates are below. He’ll be supporting Franz Ferdinand across a run of dates, as well as performing a headline show at Dingwalls in London. Tickets to the Franz shows are available here, while you can pick up Dingwalls tickets here.


13 February Manchester UK @ Albert Hall*

14 February Nottingham UK @ Rock City*

15 February Newcastle Upon Tyne UK @ O2 Academy*

17 February Glasgow UK @ O2 Academy*

19 February Leeds UK @ O2 Academy*

20 February Birmingham UK @ O2 Academy*

21 February Bristol UK @ O2 Academy*

23 February Cambridge UK @ Corn Exchange*

24 February Brixton UK @ O2 Brixton Academy*

25 February Brighton UK @ Brighton Dome*

27 February Paris France @ Le Point Ephemere*

28 February Amsterdam Netherlands @ Paradiso (Upstairs) *

1 March London UK @ Dingwalls – HEADLINE

*with Franz Ferdinand

What’s next for The Strokes?

Despite rumours that The Strokes were working on a new album, frontman Julian Casablancas revealed that it could yet be a while before they return.

Asked if The Strokes fit into his plans for 2018, Casablancas said this week: “I think that they don’t. I mean we’re always talking but I think yeah, if anything it would be 2019 – that zone, but nothing now.”

Meanwhile, Casablancas is gearing up to release his new album with The Voidz.