Although track producer/Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. doesn’t appear in the The Vaccines‘ music video for “Tiger Blood”, it’s still worth a moment of your time. In the aforementioned clip, the band finds ways to enjoy life on the road, including goofing around like they were a punk version of The Monkeys, rolling down hills on skateboards, and kicking the jams on stage. Check out the fun below (via RollingStone.com).

“Tiger Blood” and the b-side “Tuck and Roll” will be available digitally on December 13th via Columbia Records. The band’s debut album, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?, is out now.

The new Albert Hammond, Jr.-produced single from UK alt-rockers The Vaccines, “Tiger Blood”, has hit the web, and you can now stream it below (via NME).

The collaboration, which came to fruition at the request of The Strokes guitarist, was recorded over the summer in upstate New York. Explains Vaccines frontman Justin Young to NME: “We’re in a place now where we’re trying to think about what we wanna do for the next record. We really like the idea of working with other creative people and obviously, being a massive fan of The Strokes, it wasn’t something we were gonna say no to.”

“Tiger Blood” will be released digitally and alongside the track “Wetsuit” as a double A-sided 7″ single on December 4th.

On December 4th, UK indie rockers The Vaccines will release their Albert Hammond, Jr.-produced track, “Tiger Blood”, both digitally and as a double A-sided 7″ single, according to NME. The second single will be “Wetsuit”, from the band’s recently released debut, What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?. Below, you can watch the video for “Wesuit”, which is comprised of fan-submitted Instagram photos. At last, a reason for Instagram…

When Albert Hammond Jr. asks to record a song with your band for your forthcoming album, you say yes. According to this month’s NME, UK garage-rockers The Vaccines recently experienced this situation first-hand when The Strokes guitarist asked the quartet if they could team up for a song. For two-days, the “Post Break-Up Sex” group and Hammond Jr. collaborated at his studio in New York resulting in the new track, “Tiger Blood”.

The Vaccines may be on the rise in their own right, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t taken aback by the guitar-virtuoso’s wishes to work together. Frontman Justin Young told NME, “we’re in a place now where we’re trying to think about what we wanna do for the next record. We really like the idea of working with other creative people and obviously, being a massive fan of The Strokes, it wasn’t something we were gonna say no to”.

There’s no word on when the collaborative effort may see release, but we’ll keep you updated. In the meantime, The Vaccines will spending the coming months on the road with another collective of indie royalty, Arctic Monkeys. Check out their upcoming tour dates along with the video for “Post Break-Up Sex” below.

The Vaccines 2011 tour dates:
08/26 – Reading, UK @ Reading Festival
08/27 – Leeds, UK @ Leeds Festival
08/28 – Paris, FR @ Rock En Seine
09/08 – Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Cafe
09/09 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue *
09/10 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge (Musicfest NW)
09/12 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent *
09/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Music Box *
09/14 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah *
09/18 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits
09/21 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall *
09/22 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall *
09/24 – Philadelphia, PA @ Popped! Music Festival
09/25 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club *
09/27 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert *
09/28 – Montreal, QC @ Corona *
09/30 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall *
10/01 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg *
10/19 – Hamburg, DE @ Knust
10/20 – Berlin, DE @ Lido
10/22 – Stockholm, SE @ Debaser Medis
10/25 – Cologone, DE @ Luxor
10/28 – Nottingham, UK @ Capital FM Arena #
10/29 – London, UK @ O2 Arena #
11/01 – Cardiff, UK @ Motor Point Arena #
11/02 – Manchester, UK @ MEN Arena #
11/04 – Birmingham, UK @ LG Arena #
11/05 – Newcastle, UK @ Metro Arena #
11/06 – Aberdeen, UK @ AECC #
11/08 – Glasgow, UK @ SECC #
11/09 – Liverpool, UK @ Echo Arena #
11/17 – Manchester, UK @ Academy
11/19 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands
11/20 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands
11/21 – Newcastle, UK @ O2 Academy
11/23 – Sheffield, UK @ O2 Academy
11/24 – Lincoln, UK @ Engine Shed
11/25 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Academy
11/26 – Leeds, UK @ O2 Academy
11/28 – Southampton, UK @ Guildhall
11/29 – Oxford, UK @ O2 Academy
11/30 – Norwich, UK @ UEA
12/02 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
12/03 – Cambridge, UK @ Corn Exchange
12/04 – Leamington Spa, UK @ The Assembly
12/06 – Eastbourne, UK @ Winter Gardens
12/07 – London, UK @ Brixton Academy

* = w/ Tennis
# = w/ Arctic Monkeys

So, they’ve had a vacation of sorts. Casablancas, Albert Hammond, Jr., and Nikolai Fraiture put out solo works, all with mixed results, Valensi spent time raising his child and performing next to Sia, while Fabrizio Moretti broke things off with Drew Barrymore (ouch) and worked on Little Joy. It’s been a tender five years since they unbuckled First Impressions of Earth, the polarizing third LP that left fans and critics swinging both ways. Because of this lapse in time, so many folks love to romanticize the idea of the band nearly breaking up, speculating that Casablancas grew tired, or Hammond, Jr. wanted more. It’s not surprising, really, especially since the band spent sessions recording without Casablancas, or vice versa. But, as Fraiture told Spin back in January, “There was a lot of back and forth. I don’t know if Julian had trouble being with us — I don’t know what was going through his mind. There were tensions. But it worked.”

Worked, indeed. Angles, The Strokes’ long awaited fourth LP, stands as the group’s most eclectic album to date. Digressing on the album title, again with Spin, Fraiture insisted, “It’s all about the different approach and the different ways these song came out.” That truth speaks volumes here. If you pegged “Under Cover of Darkness” as the true harbinger for the record, you’re sorely mistaken. It’s maybe one of possibly two tracks that harkens back to the band’s early days. The remainder sees the quintet exploring new sounds and new faces, assembling a pocket full of erratic tunes that sound like The Strokes but in a non-traditional sense. To use an inordinately esoteric (and borderline asinine) example, it’s sort of like the old action figure lines for Batman in the mid-’90s. The figure itself always looked the same, at least in terms of size and specifications, but it came in seven or eight different variations. You know, like Arctic Batman, Midnight Batman, Tarantula Batman, etc., etc.. If you were lucky, you snagged a missile launcher, or a dino buddy, or something to that nature.

No dino buddies here, but the band does change its wardrobe aplenty. At one moment, they’re exploring murky ’80s dance grooves (“Machu Pichu”), only to backpedal seconds later with sunny melodies and popcorn riffage (“Under Cover of Darkness”). In the latter track, arguably the album’s most accessible and traditional moment, Casablancas insists he “won’t just be a puppet on a string.” He sticks to his guns, abandoning the band’s more ancestral sounds, and instead surges forward. But, remarkably, the band sounds most comfortable when they’re exploring uncharted territory.

Some of it isn’t too distant and bizarre. If you took a chance with Casablancas’ incredibly underrated solo effort, 2009′s Phrazes for the Young, portions of material here may sound oddly familiar. “Two Kinds of Happiness” channels that hazy, aerial riffage that made up “Left & Right in the Dark”, while “Games” swims with filters and synthesizers that follow up “11th Dimension”. The difference here, however, is that these songs feel more focused and in tune. They don’t wander as much. Fraiture won’t let them; neither will Moretti. The two rope in the remaining three, keeping things precise and less fragmented. Take latest B-side, “You’re So Right”, for instance. Manic guitar lines segue with toe numbing percussion, while vocals wade in and out of Fraiture’s accelerated bottom lines. It helps that the guy wrote it. Altogether, it’s a frantic, pulsing inclusion, but it wouldn’t work without the solid composure of each member. That’ll silence the skeptics.

Still, you can’t silence them for long, and, admittedly, parts of the album do falter. Having produced this themselves, with the exception of the closing track, which was worked on by producer Joe Chiccarelli (Shins, My Morning Jacket), there are little touches that irritate. At times Casablancas marries himself too closely to the instrumentation (“Taken for a Fool”), while other moments seem spoiled by flooding out the background (“Metabolism”). Time will tell if abandoning longtime producer Gordon Raphael was a good thing, but at the moment, it seems like the band could have used a little tightening. It’s not just them, though. On the aforementioned album closer, “Life is Simple in the Moonlight”, Chiccarelli patches up any holes in sound, rounding out the album with a soiree of Police-like scales, atmospheric chords, soaring synthesizers, bells, etc.. It’s a beautiful collage, but slightly distracting, specifically the verses, where Casablancas happens to exhibit his strongest lyrics. Rest assured, though, the chorus champions on, and while it sounds stripped from Phrazes…, it’s catchy, it’s dance-y, and the layers finally work to its advantage.

As with any Strokes record, the band slows things down, taking some time out for deeper moments of reflection. After all, Casablancas loves to dwell. “Is This It”? “Under Control”? “Ask Me Anything”? All in the same ballpark. Much like its predecessors, “Call Me Back” sees the elusive frontman coming to terms with his present conditions. “I look for you, and you look away,” he observes, moaning along to ghostly harmonies and spider-like guitars that crawl over an array of light noises. For a record stuffed with instrumentation, this sparse melody feels delectably rich and grounded. The bitter frontman entertains us with some humor, too, when he remarks, “Wait time is the worst/I can hardly sit/No one has the time/It’s why I’m always late.” That must be tongue-in-cheek, right? Maybe. Well, probably since he follows this up with “Gratisfaction”, a hip swinging jamboree that sees the band applauding themselves – literally.

Recently, Valensi told NME, “If we had just released [Angles] a year or two after the last one, I imagine it would have gone better.” Not sure that’s true. So many critics winced at the twists and turns of First Impressions of Earth, and yet that featured more traditional sounding tunes than here. It’s very likely they would have seethed from the mouth at the nature of this beast. While they do “return to form” on a couple tracks here, it’s quite the departure in sound from their last effort. But, we’re more open to the changes today. Not to mention, the band’s laid it out for us. They’ve insisted upon the album’s differing perspectives again and again. Because of this, Angles stays true to its name. It’s a multidimensional record that picks and pulls from various folders. Sure, it could benefit from some cohesion, but given the boys’ state of mind, it would be unfair to expect that from them. Instead, it’s a sultry exhibition, one that spotlights the band’s strengths, yet also its weaknesses. There’s something remarkably intimate about that. Exciting, too.

Before the proverbial curtain drops on “Life is Simple in the Moonlight”, Casablancas warns, “Don’t try to stop us, get out of the way.” If we’re to take Angles into consideration, it’s highly unlikely we’ll stand our ground. At this time, we’re more than willing to step aside and let them do their thing. Hell, it’s that redemptive freedom that brought them back to the fold in the first place – and with headlining slots and smiles to boot. All we ask, however, is this time, please don’t leave us waiting in the dust for five more years. Deal?

Feature artwork by Cap Blackard.

Ah, yes, The Strokes are done keeping us waiting. Not only have they recently revealed their first new song in half a decade, as well as the cover art, but we’ve already learned what song we’ll hear next. It’s called “You’re So Right”, and it’ll be coming at you two ways (three if you count the actual album).

Exactly one month before they hit Madison Square Garden, you’ll be able to grab the song on March 1st as the B-side to their “Under Cover of Darkness” 7” single. What’s more, according to XFM London, “You’re So Right” will come out on a special limited vinyl in support of Record Store Day on April 16th.

In related news, Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. recently teamed up with his legendary father, singer/songwriter Albert Hammond Sr. Sony Music is releasing Hammond Sr.’s Legend next month, and while most of the album features updated versions of his classics with special guests, the Hammond father-son team recorded a brand new track called “Changing Me”.

“I had a new song that fit very well with his style,” Hammond Sr. tells Undercover.fm, “a song that reminds me of The Beatles or Oasis, a song about the very current economic crisis. He plays the guitar amazingly and recording a duet with him was extremely important to me. It’s one of the most special songs I have ever done in my life.”

You can check out the track when Legend (complete tracklist below) is released in March. The Strokes’ Angles is due March 22nd via RCA Records. And don’t forget to support your local, independent record store on April 16th by grabbing some limited vinyl and music.

Legends Tracklist:
01. It Never Rains In Southern California (feat. Al Stewart)
02. The Air That I Breathe (feat. Cliff Richard)
03. My Heart Is Failing Me
04. When I Need You (feat. Ron Sexsmith)
05. Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now (feat. Bonnie Tyler)
06. The Free Electric Band (feat. Courtney Taylor)
07. Changing Me (feat. Albert Hammond Jr)
08. Freedom Come Freedom Go
09. Echame A Mi La Culpa (To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before) (feat. Julio Iglesias)
10. Don’t Turn Around
11. Tangled Up In Tears (feat. Helena Paparizou)
12. Little Arrows
13. I’m A Train
14. 99 Mihlia Da L.A. (feat. Claudia Baglioni)
15. A Tous Les Amours De Ma Vie (feat. Jeane Manson)

Our first stop is in back in the year 2002. The Strokes’ debut album Is This It had been released six months prior to this video. The album was making huge waves in the music scene, and was inspiring young, impressionable teens (of which I was certainly one) to grow out their hair, quit showering so much, and start buying all their clothes at the Goodwill. Julian Casablancas was at this point in his life a stay-drunk, the pyrotechnics were about as far away as you could get from a 2010 Muse show, and the sound was as raw as ever. And that is why we loved The Strokes then, and why we continue to love them now. They were a bit of a Cinderella story (minus one Hillary Duff and one Chad Michael Murray), and they came from a place that we could all relate to. So, without further ado, taken from a live showcase in LA on February 2, 2002, here are The Strokes performing the title track “Is This It”:

Hope that one brought back the painful, yet beautiful memories of adolescence. I think my acne came back from the sheer memory of what that song meant to me as a teenager. Next stop, 2004. The Strokes highly anticipated follow-up to Is This It was released in October of 2003. The success of their previous effort and ensuing tour led to the quick release of another album that sounded cleaner than its raw predecessor, but had all the same charm. You’ll notice the boys themselves haven’t changed too much, still sporting the mangy look and swagger that seems to come so natural to them, but some growing up has occurred. Casablancas began to fight the battle to sobriety at around this point and was having mixed results. He married assistant band manager Juliet Joslin just months after this video and was well on the track to becoming a responsible adult. Drummer Fabrizio Moretti began a high profile relationship with actress Drew Barrymore at this time which widened the audience of Strokes listeners. The youthful nonchalance was still prevalent, but visibly receding. This album was received as well as its predecessor, largely due to its very similar sound. It’s first single was the song “12:51” which we are about to witness. From the month of February in 2004, once again The Strokes playing “12:51”:

Our last stop, a jump forward to the year 2006. The Strokes made a major change in style. They released First Impressions of Earth in January of that year. It was the least well-received of their three albums by fans and critics alike. Their sound is bigger, stronger, and possibly a little too clean for its audience. The Strokes were founded on being fantastically unrefined, and that’s what the fans and critics wanted and expected, but not so much what they received. The vocals were cleaner, the guitar solos were more intricate, the drum work was heavier, and the bass was too energetic. I myself am a fan of the album, but trying very hard to speak from a non-biased standpoint, this was not their strongest, nor their most authentic effort. You’ll notice upon seeing them live that the pyrotechnics have accompanied this newer, bigger sound and that they’ve all cleaned up a bit; especially Albert Hammond, Jr. and the white suit that became his trademark. The boys were all really starting to grow up. Nick Valensi would marry his girlfriend of five years and have twins with her later on that year, Moretti would break it off with Drew Barrymore, and The Strokes would go on a very lengthy hiatus after this tour. You’ll also notice in this video that the sound is more calculated, the band is less energetic, and that childhood charm is very near gone. Still, they remain great. Finally, The Strokes performing “You Only Live Once” live at Eurockéennes Festival in France on one Friday in June:

Hope that trip down memory lane was filled with fond memories. Each member, with the exception of guitarist Nick Valensi, have released at least one solo album to varying degrees of success. They haven’t put anything out as a band since 2006, leaving us superfans in the dark for over four years. The news from The Strokes front is pretty constant and pretty downer these days, but I still have hope. They have been scheduled to appear at the following festivals (we’ll give you the scoop since we’re festival headquarters, USA): Isle of Wight, RockNess, Hurricane, Southside, OpenAir St. Gallen, and American festival Lollapalooza. The band has been working separately on the album, Julian on his own, the remaining four on their own. While the album was originally slated for a September 2010 release, it appears as though it has been pushed back to January of 2011, leaving the world thirsty for yet another year. In closing, don’t let this dark last paragraph full of sad news kill the high you got by watching these videos. It was meant to act as a reminder to what incredible icons The Strokes are, and to instill hope in the unbelievers. The Strokes will remain in our hearts forever, no matter what road they choose to travel.

The New York foursome have been working on their debut for the past couple years, a time period they also spent building a live reputation from small clubs to major festivals. They’ve also caught the attention of The Strokes’ guitarist Albert Hammond Jr., who loaned his skills to co-produce the record with the band.

“We’ve been working at this for quite a while and still have a long way to go,” said frontman Daniel Balk. ”But we’re so excited to release this album, to get out there and continue to tour and share our music and hopefully help some people have a little fun while we’re at it.”

They certainly are continuing to share their music. This past March, The Postelles released a new EP, White Light. The effort’s title track can be download from the band’s official website.

The Postelles Tracklist:
01. White Night
02. Sleep on the Dance Floor
03. 123 Stop
04. Boy’s Best Friend
05. Can’t Stand Still
06. Hold On
07. Stella
08. Hey Little Sister
09. Whisper Whisper
10. Blue Room
11. She She

The Postelles 2010 Tour Dates:
04/23 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Skidmore College %
04/26 – Norwich, UK @ Arts Centre *
04/27 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms *
04/28 – Leeds, UK @ Cockpit *
05/01 – London, UK @ Camden Crawl Festival
05/02 – London, UK @ Camden Crawl Festival
05/03 – Sheffield, UK @ Leadmill*
05/04 – Birmingham, UK @ Academy 2 *
05/14 – London, UK @ Club NME at Koko
06/10 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music Festival
07/28 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom

% = w/ The Walkmen
* = w/ The Futureheads

Per an interview with Spinner, the band decided to split recording into two very unique locations before finishing the album in their van between tour stops, including a recent gig at the Iceland Airwaves festival.

“Recording was a multifaceted process,” frontman Daniel Balk said. “First, we rented space at a studio called Quad Studios in Times Square, which was really weird because, as New Yorkers, we don’t really spend a lot of time there.”

Yes, that’s the same studio where Tupac got shot. Then their next stop, which may seem to needlessly make the whole ordeal longer than necessary, was a move of creative brilliance.

“So we were there for four days at first just, as an initial push and we basically worked 15, 16-hour days and we just went nuts,” Balk said. “That was half the record. The other half we did at Phillip Glass’ Looking Glass Studio with our friend Albert Hammond, Jr. of the Strokes. Very different experiences.”

What they’re now left with is songs that take a Strokes level retro rock and feeds it through a combination garage rock/Wall of Sound machine. Two songs, “Can’t Stand Still” and “Boy’s Best Friend”, are available now on the band’s MySpace.

Stay tuned for more album details and tour plans.

Agy and Albert had a big row before she came to London for Fashion Week,” a source told the paper. “He’s really cut up and his bandmates checked him into rehab last week.”

The band has yet to comment on the report… perhaps because they’re still in the “11th Dimension”.

Back in 2006, Mr. Hammond picked up a few new band mates. Matt Romano (drums), Marc Philippe Eskenazi (guitars/keyboards) and Josh Lattanzi (bass) all helped release Yours To Keep, and while it was obvious where he had just come from musically, the tracks still slightly felt like possible Strokes b-sides. His latest LP ¿Cómo Te Llama? may be history repeating itself. Opening the record, “Bargain of the Century” sounds exactly like a Strokes b-side, including the signature speedy strumming pattern and simple chord exchange that is all over the new record. Interestingly enough, however, this track is mostly instrumental with a country twang following the little vocals that do appear.

“Lisa” is the first track on the album to slow things down a bit. Carried by a slight island fever, this light heartiness straddles a chorus of distorted guitars and melancholy lyrics that reveal a nineties alt rock ballad side. “GFC” ends up being the first song that sounds like a possible hit for Hammond, Jr., which might explain why it’s the first single off the album. By slowing down the upstrokes with a By The Way sounding introduction, the song turns out to be very soothing. The lyrics on this one are well written, putting a highlight on this track.

Once you get into the meat of record, the songs turn downward again. “The Boss Americana” attempts to be catchy with a familiar formula that only gets tiring, as nothing seems to stand out. Some different experimentation comes with “Victory At Monterey”. With a spooky introduction that brings in the first example of broadened song writing, the track is another plus for the record, relying on a strong base line that leaves the guitars as background noise more or less.  “Spooky Couch” is by far the most original and grabbing moment for this record. Featuring an appearance by Sean Lennon on piano, it’s a soft guitar ballad that carries a slight Spanish influence at first. The conclusion of the song builds into a wonderfully arranged, strings-enhanced finish that serves as an oasis to this dessert. After this, however, the album falls back into it’s usual self. “Miss Myrtle” takes on a much poppier tone feeding right into the same old chorus technique we have heard on every piece of music that Albert has written. To his credit however, it’s what sets him apart as a musician.

The album ends on what starts out as a stronger note with “Feed Me Jack Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Peter Sellers”. Opening with pianos and simple vocals, this is another track that helps set Hammond, Jr. apart from his previous work. The songs’ false ending taps back into a nineties alternative structure, then loops into the real finish that leaves nothing to be missed.

In the end, ¿Cómo Te Llama? turns out to be hit or miss, with most of the tracks sounding as if he didn’t reach very far outside of his musical range. One thing that is consistent here is Hammond Jr’s strong ability to write a good rhythm guitar part, which is all the record seems to be. Though, an album of only good rhythm guitars only makes it feel bland. How unfortunate, considering this project is one of the few times he gets to play lead guitar for the band. With that in mind, if he wants to keep this solo gig up, he has some growing to do.

Check Out:
¿Cómo Te Llama?