Pitchfork

With Julian Casablancas palling around with Pharrell and Santogold and Albert Hammond Jr. on the other side of a second solo album, the Strokes seem pretty content being a coalition of loosely affiliated artists instead of a functioning band, despite a claim on their website that "the guys are set to get together and get back at it [in] early 2009." (Maybe with Pharrell behind the boards?)

The most recent additions to the family of Strokes side projects come from drummer Fabrizio Moretti and bassist Nikolai Fraiture, which leaves guitarist Nick Valensi as the one seemingly content to do nothing more than live the life of an international playboy. Smart man.

According to a report on Rolling Stone's Rock & Roll Daily blog, Moretti's side project is called Little Joy and features the talents of Rodrigo Amarante (Los Hermanos) and Binki Shapiro, who Rock & Roll Daily reports is Moretti's girlfriend. The blog calls the group's sound a combination of "Antonio Carlos Jobim, Vince Guaraldi, and Sixties wall-of-sound girl groups," and the trio will release their debut album this fall via Rough Trade.
 
Fraiture has gone a simpler route with the name of his side project, Nickel Eye. His debut under the name is titled The Time of the Assassins. Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Regina Spektor guest on the project.

Despite all this studio activity, Hammond is the only Stroke with tour dates coming up. He'll kick off a brief tour of Australia, Japan, and Brooklyn (one of these things is not like the other) on July 30.

Albert Hammond Jr.:

07-30 Melbourne, Australia - Prince Bandroom
08-01 Sydney, Australia - The Gaelic Theatre
08-02 Brisbane, Australia - The Zoo
08-09 Tokyo, Japan - Summer Sonic Festival
08-10 Osaka, Japan - Summer Sonic Festival
08-11 Osaka, Japan - Club Quattro
08-12 Tokyo, Japan - Club Quattro
08-15 Brooklyn, NY - McCarren Park Pool