Albert Hammond Jr. will be performing at 8 p.m. Sunday at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St.

If you’re heading to the Bottleneck this Sunday, you better gussy up and bring your dancing shoes.

Albert Hammond Jr., known as the energetic and speedy rhythm guitarist from The Strokes, is coming through Lawrence armed with a new album full of upbeat and entirely danceable tunes. The man has made a name for himself as a quick and nimble-fingered guitarist who churns out albums full of snappy numbers, increasing his speed ever so slightly with every album.

“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve always pushed the song to be faster first,” he says. “Funny thing, I did everything in reverse. The band you get into in high school, I got into in my 30s.”

Hammond has spent more than a decade improving his craft. Three studio albums and one EP later, he’s finally got “Momentary Masters.” If he was looking for something that could set him apart as a musician from his work in The Strokes, this is the record that will do it.

The album’s introductory track, “Born Slippy,” makes the tone clear from the beginning: This is a fun album. Every recurring listen leaves the listener recognizing something new. Getting to this point was sort of a process of elimination for Hammond.

“I need to make something that sounds like something I want to hear,” he says. “It’s something you feel in your gut. Once you stop liking everything that you do, then you just start picking the things that you think could be really cool. In that process, things happen. As you do it more and more, you start to realize when they’re happening and how to run with them.”

Style and substance

Perfecting his defining sound isn’t the only talent Hammond started to run with. Very early in his career with The Strokes, he was recognized as a snappy dresser. The man in the three-piece suits also helped influence the style of those surrounding him. Naturally, the next step was to launch his own line of suits. Between touring with The Strokes and releasing his own solo material, the busy bee somehow managed to team up with stylist Ilaria Urbinati.

“It just seemed fun, and it was fun. We got to hang out and pick fabrics and design different cuts. After I bought a suit somewhere, I would take it to the tailor and totally redo it. I thought, instead of doing that, ‘Why don’t I make my own?'” he says. “I learned a lot from that process. It didn’t seem like it was that draining.”

His suits were well-received, and even donned by Ryan Gosling in the movie “Crazy Stupid Love.” Hammond has always found a way to perfectly balance his musical work with his dedication to fashion, but looking good never goes out of style.

“In the mid to late-’60s, a musician wasn’t just an entertainer. They became a rock star,” he says, noting how owning a sense of style was also a way to connect with the right peers. “When I was younger, that seemed exciting. If I tried to live the dream every day, then maybe I would find people who are like me. It was just a way to find people, I guess. It was my way of finding people.”

Balancing his best

You can bet that even through something as difficult and grueling as touring, Hammond will be dressed well. He came through Kansas City not too long ago, and now has his sights set on Lawrence.

Hammond has toured the world with The Strokes, but playing the Midwest and smaller markets is something he holds in high regard.

“I like touring America, and I like going to these different cities. That’s why I keep going back, to see if I can break there and be able to go through. I don’t want to just be a coast-city player,” says Hammond, recalling his talkative nature at his most recent Kansas City show. “It was very friendly. I got to really just talk to the audience, and we all hung out afterwards.”

This is really a give-and-take relationship. Audiences get to enjoy a fun show they can groove to with a musician who tends to crack jokes and rub elbows with them. In return, Hammond gets to discover what it is that appeals to his fans and himself.

He may have endless mass exposure and world tours behind him, but it wasn’t until this most recent album that he felt more “sure” about what he was doing.

“With this record, I’m seeing if I can stand on my own two feet, if I can be wanted by people, if I can continue doing it as a profession,” he says. “There’s a balance. There’s things you’re doing for yourself, and it’s also a form of entertainment. You’re mixing these two sides. It’s what I know and it’s what I love to do.”

Hammond previously toured solo, but now he’s teamed up with a backing band that earned his seal of approval.

“I want to see if when I think I’m at my best, if I can succeed at it, if the music and the band can stand on their own two feet. I think making records and touring is a gift, it’s not a give. It’s like earning the right to do it,” he says. “I gotta go step by step. I always makes music, it’s just in me. I can’t help it. As long as there’s an audience for me, I’d like to be doing it.”

— Fally Afani is a freelance writer and editor of iheartlocalmusic.com.