What we (and Albert Hammond Jr.) are listening to: the Postelles

If MySpace updates are to be believed, the Strokes are currently working on the followup to 2006′s First Impressions of Earth; in the meantime, some members are staying plenty busy with their own stuff (we’ll mention drummer Fabrizio Moretti anytime, just to practice rolling our "R"s like a Spanish conquistador).

And now, guitarist Albert Hammond has a new pet project, other than his own solo career: A scrappy young New York foursome named the Postelles.

According to frontman Daniel Balk, the coming-together of his then-unsigned band and the erstwhile Stroke was pure fate — and a little hustle: "We met him on the street outside of [East Village institution] the Sidewalk Cafe, where we had a gig. We were in 10th grade. We asked him to come in to see us play a show and he did. A year later he heard ’123 Stop’ and liked it a lot and let us record it in his bedroom!"

Now, Hammond Jr. has produced a number of tracks on their upcoming debut for Capitol, which will likely be out this fall, and not surprisingly, a pretty strong Strokes-ian vibe pervades the band’s sunny garage-bop sound; think Julian Casablancas & co., minus the louche "we smoke a lot and wear ladies’ leather jackets" poses, and plus a jangly, early-Kinks-y sort of That Thing You Do innocence.

But you tell me, readers — did you see them perform last year at Lollapalooza or Bonaroo festivals, or will you be catching them at the All Points West fest this August? Tri-staters can also see them in NYC this Thursday. Stream to "123 Stop" below, and tell us if you’re feeling it:

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