Albert Hammond Jr.

When those crisp drums kicked off—bum-bap-bum-bap-bum-bap-bum-ba-dap—and Albert Hammond Jr.’s clean guitar stabs cut in at the start of the Strokes’ “Last Nite,” critics cried the New York pants-tighteners were ripping off Tom Petty. The similarity lasts 28 seconds; as soon as Julian Casablancas breaks into the opening chorus, the song’s into more Johnny Thunders territory—different Heartbreakers. Still, detractors loved to knock the band as “American Girl” recyclers.

If there’s any evidence of Petty’s influence on the Strokes, it lies sequestered in Hammond’s solo records. ¿Cómo Te Llama? opens with “Bargain of the Century,” in which Hammond speed-strums through crisp chords over a snappy beat while drawling in a pale Dylan impersonation. It’s enough to get a guy a membership in the Traveling Wilburys. The affable, blazer-clad axeman even calls a track on this sophomore effort “The Boss Americana.”

But it would be just as shallow to dismiss this record as an imitation of Damn the Torpedoes. More likely it will be dismissed because of Hammond’s anonymous voice. A bag of tricks gets thrown at the songs, which dip their toes in clichéd second-effort experiments—you know, reggae, keyboards, strings, drum machines, a seven-minute Hawaiian-styled instrumental about a couch, yadda yadda. Immaculate production makes for a tantalizing listen, but little sticks.

As on Hammond’s debut, the best tracks (“In My Room,” “G Up”) feel like Strokes demos. If Hammond hopes to whet appetites until his full-time gig’s fourth LP, it does the trick. But nothing more.