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Track Listings
| 1. Is This It |
| 2. The Modern Age |
| 3. Soma |
| 4. Barely Legal |
| 5. Someday |
| 6. Alone, Together |
| 7. Last Nite |
| 8. Hard To Explain |
| 9. New York City Cops |
| 10. Trying Your Luck |
| 11. Take It Or Leave It |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Review
But that's all academic.
At the centre of this big mess of NYC coolness are our good friends: The Strokes. Undoubtably, one of the most over-hyped bands of this year, if not the past five. Now I'm someone who firmly believes that where there's smoke, there's usually fire. And where there's fire, I feel it's usually best to have a fire extinguisher in hand, ready to smother any flames of hype before they get too big and begin hurting innocent bystanders.
The problem with the Strokes is that overhyped or not, they really are worthy of great praise. Formed around 1995 or so, they spent a few years playing the tried and tested Manhattan club circuit until finally coming up with a 3 track demo. That demo eventually made it to the offices of Rough Trade, where, well, the rest is history, innit? Everything about the band - from the songwriting (Taking all the best elements of The Stooges, Television and The Velvet Underground not as theft but as influence) to the lyrics ("New York City Cops" - enough said) to the production (as raw and indie as you can get) is just fantastic. There's no real pretence (ok, they're all privileged white kids, but nobody's counting) or ulterior motive. They just do what they do and my God, do they do it well, in this really weird Warhol-esque way.
Listening to Is This It reminds me very much that The Strokes could have been in an episode of Star Trek where Captain Kirk and company find a record that's been transported back from the back shelves of a record store in the early 80s to the future (read: 'Bleeker Bobs' or 'It's Only Rock and Roll' all you newly converted NYC aficionados). Then Kirk turns to Spock and remarks on how it perfectly captures the spirit and sound of the city during that time. That's only logical - that record comes from that time and place, Spock would say.
But The Strokes are not from 1977 or 1981 or 1984. They are from 2001 and that's what makes them so unique. One listen to "Hard to Explain", and I guarantee you'll be singing it in your head for weeks. The same goes for "New York City Cops", "The Modern Age", "Barely Legal"...let's just say the whole damn album, while were at it, shall we? New York has always had a plethora of fantastic rock bands and you simply can't deny that The Stokes are a hell of a great band. Do yourself a favour and forget everything you read. Forget everything that comes out of the bands mouths. Forget you've even heard about them. Just get this CD as if you knew nothing about them, put it on your stereo, turn the volume all the way up and just........ listen. Don't believe the hype - they really are that good. --Olli Siebelt
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
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Customer Reviews
I love every tune for different reasons, usually the catchy chorus which is totally unexpected, as in 'Alone, Together'. The singles, Last Nite, Hard To Explain and Someday are the better tunes off the album but once you listen, listen and listen you will discover the wonderful world of The Strokes and the howling vocals of Julian Casablancas
In these days where indie-rock is increasingly typecast as miserablist whining, the Strokes were just what was needed - cool, confident and gloriously upbeat. Everything a great rock 'n' roll band should be. The Strokes do nothing particularly new or clever. They just play blistering rock 'n' roll bloody well, and have a real 'bandness' about them. Observe any photo of the band and you see not just a lead singer and some other blokes who might play guitars or something, but a band. You see five young New Yorkers looking self-assured, cool and cocky, looking as if they KNOW they're brilliant, and frankly deserve all the plaudits that come their way. Such arrogance has been embedded in many of the greats - witness the Stone Roses ("the past was yours but the future's mine") - and it comes across in the music itself.
Whizzing by in a mere 35 minutes, 'Is This It' is a classic from start to finish. The band has the audacity to place the album's most downbeat track as it's opener (the title track) and to build it up from there. Next comes the pounding Lou Reed-esque 'The Modern Age' and the album is really moving. 'Soma' and the blistering 'Barely Legal' blast by and leave you breathless, before the muscular introspection of 'Someday' - one of many tracks to feature a classic guitar riff that really should have been thought of earlier. 'Alone Together' starts ordinarily but kicks into one of the most rip-roaring finales in living memory. 'Last Nite' is a glorious rush of Iggy Pop power pop while 'Hard To Explain has the sort of progressive momentum usually associated with dance music. 'N.Y.C Cops' (controversial in the wake of September 11) is perhaps the band's finest hour to date, and is, in a ragged Strokes way, extremely accomplished. After 'Trying Your Luck' and 'Take It or Leave It' wrap the album up, you'll be cursing its brevity but thanking the New-York 5-piece that the new millenium at last has a guitar band to cherish.
They may still be unproven but The Strokes are the most essential band on the planet at the moment. They feel vital and fresh yet timeless. They are currently on top of the world. See them before it's too late...
Punchy, absurdly melodic pop songs that defy belief.
Weighing in at just over half an hour this album smacks of a band desperate to show you everything they´ve got in their armoury. I like the way they start with the low-key yet beautifully lacrymose "Is this It." Every single tracks builds to a transcendent melody."The Modern Age," leads in excellently to,"Soma."
A personal favourite is,"Someday," the riff has a anthemic quality to it but the lyrics are movingly distant and understated.
Most of the songs are about love and distant relationships which is comfortable territory for a first record but the slant on everything is somehow distinct to most of the other predictable bands around at the moment. Someone told me they´ve been compared to The Velvet Underground. The person who said that obviously has never listened to The Velvet Underground.
The great thing about this album is the way the guitarists work is tandem.It all sounds so simple but yet they compliment each brilliantly, Nick Valensi provides the drive, whilst Albert Hammond Jnr chips in with his quirky little riffs that keep the listener constantly entertained. The bass player knows what he´s doing as well. Anyone who´s seen them live knows how well they work together as a unit.
They also know how to stop a track, this album never drags, each tune zips along as if they are ready to get on to the next one. Julian´s vocal style is undeniably cool, he brims with confidence and I love the way he throws the odd word in completely against the beat a.k.a Mark E Smith.
Anyone with a genuine love of music will warm to this. So what if they dress cool, isn´t that what Rock and Roll´s meant to be all about about? I hope this lot are here to stay
Dave
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