Albert Hammond Jr - '100-99'
‘100-99’ is the first instalment of Albert Hammond Jr’s soon-to-be released, ‘Melodies on Hiatus’ EP, and it is beguiling.
Albert Hammond Jr is a cornerstone of the alternative 00s, into the 2010s, and continues to stay pertinent in 2023. His new single ‘100-99’ starts off in his usual manner: compelling drum-beat, nu-gaze vocals & unnerving melody, but slowly evolves into a Gorillaz-style rap-rock track.
In the first half of the song, we are treated to a Hammond Jr novella - a monologue about his complex feelings about an object of his desire, and himself. The vocals are despondent and alluring, and has a music video to match. The video is part one of the visual story of ‘Melodies on Hiatus’, with the subsequent four accompanying an array of the eighteen tracks left on the album. The video depicts a brooding house party of sorts, with gothic fashion and awkward stares. The video ends with a woman emptying a case of money, and creates intrigue for the next chapter of this story.
The second half of the song is just as intriguing as the first, GoldLink adds to the song’s tension with his angst-infused rap verse. GoldLink addresses his ex, stating that “if you were a car, I would crash you to a wall” and gives the song a rustic edge. Hammond Jr has stated that he “grew up listening to 90s hip-hop, and I would always gravitate towards the melodic hooks in the songs” and so the worlds of alternative indie and rap have now collided. Hammond Jr is successful in combining both genres in ‘100-99’, and I am sure this single is a prelude to a plethora of new, exciting tracks.
‘Melodies on Hiatus’ will be released on 23rd June 2023, and will be Hammond Jr’s first solo release since 2018.
Words by Megan Budgen
