The Strokes hit the world music scene in 2001 with a bang, dropping their debut album Is this it to a surprised audience. With the release of the album, The Strokes hit a nerve. The five young men Julian Casablancas, Nikolai Fraiture, Nick Valensi, Albert Hammond JR and Fabrizio Moretti hailing from New York City brought with them shaggy hair, leather jackets, garage rock rhythm and slick guitar solos. The Popular music scene at the time was saturated with mainly nu-metal, hip-hop and RnB acts and a scarce amount of rock n roll to choose from. Groups such as Limp Bizkit and artists like R.Kelly were the hottest thing out.

The band has been called everything from “rock n roll revivalists” to the “creators of the indie rock scene” and are praised globally for putting guitar music and garage rock back into the limelight. Releasing five full-length studio albums and three EP’S, they have produced an impressive body of work that is adored by their fans. So to celebrate this enigmatic band we have decided to rate their five full-length studio albums.

5.

Album: Comedown Machine

Released: 2013

Label: RCA/ Rough Trade

Producer: Gus Odberg

Comedown Machine was the fifth release from the band and their most recent full-length offering. Recorded in Electric Ladyland studios in New York City and One-way studios in upstate New York from July to November 2012. The album was the final release that would fulfil their contract to RCA records and allow the band to finish their long-time agreement with the label. The Strokes decided not to promote the album and advertise it in any way and with this Comedown Machine was perceived as a way of fulfilling their contract.

Musically speaking Comedown Machine is an exciting effort that shows approaches to different styles of music and production techniques. The boys seem to present themselves with challenges throughout the album and It’s obvious they had quite a bit of fun with it. Their trademark sound is still present with songs such as All The Time and 50/50 something the will never shake. 80’s Comedown Machine the 5th song on the album has an eerie thought provoking feel with a smooth dreamy dub-pop sound and sniggering vocals and is something new for the listener. One-Way Trigger sounds like MGMT collided with a Spanish dance soundtrack and Partners in crime seems like an ode to the Arctic Monkeys with psychedelic guitar strumming thrown in.

The album has its stand-out moments but does lack a clear theme from start to finish.Tap out and Call It Fate, Call It Karma are great songs in their own right but nonetheless seem as if they don’t belong on the same album together. Stand out tracks include Welcome to Japan and the before mentioned 80’s Comedown Machine.

Overall Comedown Machine is an enjoyable listen and presents new musical efforts from the band but the lack of thematic coherence plays the album down.

4.

Album: First Impressions of Earth

Released: 2006

Label: RCA/ Rough trade

Producer: David Kahne, Gordon Raphael.

First Impressions of Earth was the third full-length release from The Strokes, recorded over a ten-month period in 2005. This album was the follow up to their definitive second album Room on Fire and left Julian, Nick, Fabrizio, Albert and Nikolai with a hard task, to fill their own shoes and redefine the footprint they left from the success of their previous two albums.

The album starts off swinging with You Only Live Once, one of The Strokes most popular songs to date, complete with that classic intertwining guitar sound and robot-like rhythm section its definitive Strokes but in an overly popish package. Next up is Juice Box another celebratory song, paying odes to heavy metal with thrashing guitars in the verse and a rugged bass line at the front of the mix through the whole track. You can’t help but appreciate the infectiousness of the chorus. The third track on the album is another big one, Heart in a Cage. A romantic tale complete of a man’s heart trapped in what he can’t really seem to believe in. Maybe a metaphor from Casablanca’s feelings for the album or the current state at the time of the band. The track features Nick Valensi’s signature guitar tone dripping all over it with the screeching lead guitar break.

The Fourth track Razorblade presents another Strokes classic with crunchy guitars, moody vocals and straightforward rhythm. The first four tracks are amazing but towards the finish, First Impressions of Earth begins to drop off and focus seems to splinter. As we go further along, the song’s just don’t deliver the same consistency as the first four. There are touches of something good littered through the album though, such as the dreamy and slightly psychedelic 15 minutes and the verbose melody on Evening Sun. First Impressions of Earth although containing some of the groups most popular songs was the least commercially successful of all five studio albums.

3.

Album: Angles

Released: 2011

Label: RCA/ Rough trade

Producer: Gus Odberg, Joe Chiccarelli

Angles was the full-length offering from the band and had the biggest gap between recordings. Releasing the album in 2011, five years from the release of First Impressions Of Earth. It seems the boys may have been worn out from the First Impressions recordings and over the five-year hiatus discovered a new vitality and energy for their music, presented with the vibrant album Angles.

Angles is a short play with ten songs that are both sweet and sonic, verging on heavy rock in parts to experimental pop in others. The band broke new ground for themselves as musicians and fresh approaches were taken during the album’s recording as an effort to not wear themselves out. Including everything from 80’s pop rock infusions two kinds of happiness to the upbeat and shamelessly feel-good Gratisfaction. Angles has a certain light to it and feels like the band seemed in a better place when they recorded it compared to the previous Album. There is something for The Strokes purist and the listener wanting something new in this release. Under Cover of Darkness is a Strokes classic, with the catchy lead guitar break and the jumpy strumming through the verse. Machu Pichu with the filtered vocals and plucking guitar sound makes you feel like you’re in downtown Miami strolling around in the dim sundown. Games is another song giving heavy odes to 80’s pop, a rumoured pleasure of Casablanca’s and other band members alike. The album standout is obviously Taken for a Fool, a slick New York disco-esque masterpiece that travels up and down in its arrangement. The heavy hook of the verse is undeniably cheerful so it’s no wonder it was one of singles from the album.

Angles is an album that captured a time when the band was working well and the results show with a well-rounded collection of songs from start to finish.

2.

Album: Is This It

Released: 2001

Label: RCA/ Rough trade

Producer: Gordon Raphael.

Is This It was without a doubt the album that put The Strokes on the map, released in July 2001 to an audience that was drowning in Nu-metal, Rap and RnB acts. It was a stark contrast to a lot of popular music at the time and its standout simple rock n roll flavour resonated with a young audience. As The Strokes debut album, it brought the five young men from New York City to international fame and indie rock God status.

The idea of the band was to make a record simple in approach and let the songs speaks for themselves. With barely any studio editing on the album and most of the tracks done as live takes, it was an antidote to the overly produced pop sounds despised by the band at the time and this is where the genius lay. The album set the groundwork for the band to show off their individual skills and their uncanny ability for a good melody shown in the mammoth tracks Someday and Last Nite.

The title track Is This It is a melancholic sing-along that brings forth the lyrical mind of Julian Casablanca’s. With tales of urban youth, romance and everything in between, it sets the basis of the lyrical content for the album. Take It or Leave It and New York City Cops allow Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond JR to show what the signature strokes guitar sound is all about, steady rhythm, smooth chord changes and classic leads. Hard to Explain and The Modern Age presents the rhythm section it all its glory and demonstrate the essential backbone of the strokes sound. Trying Your Luck shows the band all working together seamlessly in a softer way to other parts of the album.

Is This It is an album you can happily listen to from start to finish, an instant classic with every one of the 11 tracks on the album a gem in its own right.

1.

Album: Room on Fire

Released: 2003

Label: RCA/ Rough trade

Producer: Gordon Raphael

Room on Fire was the band’s seminal second release and catapulted the band to even greater heights achieved with their first album. It allowed the band to build on their strengths and the framework created in Is This It. It presents a more mature band musically and lyrically, as the band became akin to the recording industry and the popular music scene. The band fully delivered with Room on Fire and didn’t fall attest to the second album curse many bands go through. The Strokes took what they did well in their first album and then did it better.

Room on Fire opens with the track What Ever Happened which is everything you love about The Strokes, growling vocals, relatable lyrics, crunchy guitars and backboard rhythm. It sounds like the kind of song the band were formed to create. Second track Reptilia is probably the bands most adored and most popular track, but it’s no wonder, from start to finish it hooks the listener in with a smooth bass line and features many dynamic breaks.

12:51 a tale of a night out in New York City and all that happens at 12:51 Am and shows the band indulging in a pop-friendly sound but doing it with the masquerade of rock n roll cool. Meet me in the bathroom lyrically details a risky meeting of sorts and complete with twirling guitars it is another classic indie rock track.

Album standouts include The End Has No End a triumphant song with full force drumming and undeniably infectious vocal melody and Under Control a genius garage rock ballad that you can’t help but relate to. Room on Fire is the band at a musical height, refrained perfectly at points and outspoken at others. It allowed the group to come into their own and musically create the sound they seemed destined to do. A class album.