Solo artist and Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr share new music and drops release date for Francis Trouble.

Sometimes exploring the darkest topics and experiences can spawn beautiful pieces of music, and turning tales of personal tragedy into creative works can be a part of an artists process of reckoning with gloomy periods. It seems this is the approach taken by Albert Hammond Jr on his forthcoming album Francis Trouble.

Here, Hammond Jr examines the death of his stillborn twin brother Francis and the ripple of effects it has had on his life and music retrospectively, as despite being aware of Francis’ death, he only recently has been informed by an aunt of the intimate circumstances surrounding his twin, and the fact that Francis’ fingernail remained in the womb with him.

Musically his new track ‘Far Away Truths’ reminds us of all of the things we love about Hammond Jr’s music – guitar driven pop-rock with his trademark vintage tones and production style and huge hooks. It’s certainly got us looking forward to hearing him tackle such an intensly personal story whilst balancing the pop sensibilites which are part of his DNA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg_Hu9P3I10

Taking a leaf out of Bowie’s book, Hammond Jr says, “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. The music is the mask the message wears and I, the performer, am the message.”

Clear your calender for March 9th when Francis Trouble is dropped, as this one will certainly be worth of some attentive listening.