Kane Fulton

The Strokes third album has an indecipherable, different feel about it to the first two records. It doesn’t even matter that one third is blindingly good, another third merely average, and another third stagnantly awful, nor is there particularly a great deal of depth in the songs. What it does have is character, and it has it in spades.

Anybody who has followed The Strokes from their debut LP, ‘Is This It’, or even from ‘The Modern Age’ EP, will know the controversy that surrounds The Strokes each time they release a new album. Mutterings and echoes of, ‘but this isn’t The Strokes, really, is it?’ can be seen on music message boards and discussion blogs. Of course what these people really mean, is that the production doesn’t sound like that on, ‘Is This It’, with that tinny, lo-fi, ‘recorded with authentic 80’s analogue equipment’ sound. The same could be said about The White Stripes first two long players. ‘The White Stripes’ and ‘De Stijl’ both had a rough-around-the-edges sound, as if they were recorded at a lower sound quality on purpose to give them that bluesy rawness. Upon ‘White Blood Cells’, the third release, the production was suddenly as sharp as a needle. The minimal musical elements were still there, and they still pulled out career-defining tunes, but many fans felt that the bands ‘true’ sound had been lost, possibly never to be heard again. 

So then, ‘First Impressions of Earth’ is finally upon us, and the production is, once again, sharp as a Russel Lissak haircut. After listening to the first seven seconds of opener, ‘You Only Live Once’, I thought I had accidentally inserted my ‘I Want to Break Free’ Queen single. Thankfully, the track quickly diverts from this into one of the best pop gems The Strokes have ever written. “Sit me down, shut me up, I’ll calm down, and I’ll get along with you” is one of the few lyrically interesting phrases that appear on this album. Whilst Nick Valensi’s guitar playing has noticeably improved (evident on the System Of A Down-like solo on, ‘Vision of Division’) and Fab’s beats have become more varied and complex (the verse drumming on, ‘Electicityscape’) It appears Casablanca’s’ lyrical ink well has ran dry. Obvious single, “Heart in a Cage” is by far the albums standout track, combining descending guitar riffs with thundering drums. Following a simple verse, chorus, middle eight structure, It is the closest the band have ever got to writing an, ‘epic pop song’.

The Barry Manilow influenced, ‘Razorblade’ has a mildly interesting story about a man who doesn’t take his woman out enough, or take her feelings into consideration like he should, only to turn around at the end and admit, “Sweetheart, your tears are more important, of course”. Perhaps Julian was trying to tell the listeners something with the chorus on the mellotron-driven, ‘Ask Me Anything’, which simply repeats, ‘I’ve got nothing to say’. At fourteen songs, The Strokes left more than enough room to disappoint. ‘Killing Lies’, ‘Evening Sun’ and ’15 Minutes’ are equally forgettable, which make the above-average ‘Ize of The World’ sound epic in comparison.

It’s not that The Strokes are losing their creative input; it just feels like they’re trying too hard, and as a result it sounds like they’re hardly trying at all. Most tracks are tending to ‘sound’ like something else. ‘You only live once’ sounds like Queen, ‘Juicebox’ is similar to ‘The Munsters’ theme tune, or the James Bond theme tune, ‘Razorblade’ sounds like ‘Mandy’, and ‘15 Minutes’ sounds more than a bit like a lost ‘Pogues’ song.

Better than, ‘Room on Fire’, but a million miles from, ‘Is This It’, ‘First Impressions Of Earth’ contains just enough singles to keep us interested until their next offering. Let’s hope that Julian has found something to say by then.

Rating:

9/10

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