In some ways, The Strokes reshaped the way bands rose to fame. From their modest inception in New York City’s prep school scene to their now legendary debut Is This It, The Strokes skated a fine line between cultivating their image as the poster-boys of “New York cool” and breathing new life into the basics of guitar-driven rock n’ roll. With The Strokes, separating style from substance proved practically impossible. Critical hype overwhelmed their talent with enough hyperbole to bestow them nothing less than the role of rock music’s messianic saviors. By the time The Strokes released their sophomore album, Room on Fire, only John Lennon’s back-up vocals might have helped the record live up to its limitless expectations. In the end, wearing the same jaded facial expressions as resourcefully as their brand of Bowery boutique, The Strokes—along with their throngs of blogging bootlickers—made it especially difficult to pay attention to just the music.
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And the music itself wasn’t revolutionary. Nothing about their sound asked us to think about rock n’ roll any differently. Radiohead had made such demands with Kid A only a year before Is This It’s release date, so when The Strokes revived the riff-ready, bare dynamics of Loaded-era Velvet Underground garage pop, it felt almost counter-productive. At the same time, the band approached their songwriting with enough heartfelt inspiration to avoid the label of purely derivative music. Their compositions, tight and to the point, bounced along too seamlessly and too charmingly to resist. Every chord change and rhythmic break found its place alongside Julian Casablancas’s shameless growl; no twisty riff or solo demanded more attention than it needed. No matter how many leather jackets or indoor sunglasses they insisted on toting, these guys were not pretentious.
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Eventually though, the sheen wore off. Amid internal tensions and the lackluster reception of their third effort, First Impressions of Earth, The Strokes relinquished their throne to newcomers like the Arctic Monkeys and Kings of Leon. Tales of in-fighting and Casablancas’s diva behavior accompanied the band’s decision to take an extended hiatus following a U.S. tour.
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After a few amusing side projects to pass the time, The Strokes ended that hiatus with plans to record a fourth album in early 2009. Guitarist Nick Valensi and Casablancas began writing new material, and the band entered the studio shortly thereafter, recording and self-producing a record entitled Angles in guitarist Albert Hammond Jr.’s home. However, the collaborative spirit that characterized the recording of the band’s previous albums remained mostly absent from the Angles recordings. Casablancas notoriously recorded his vocal tracks separately, contacting the others through e-mail and keeping his distance in some effort to “force the [rest of the band’s] initiative,” according to a recent Pitchfork interview. The approach left the remaining Strokes disenchanted, most of all Valensi. “I won’t do the next album we make like this,” he told Pitchfork’s Jonathan Garrett. “No way. It was awful—just awful.”
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As a listener, the difficulty of separating the story from the songs ultimately makes Angles more challenging to take in. I felt my appreciation and ability to engage with it bogged down by knowledge of the band’s fractured recording process. Once again, the band’s hype detracts from their sound, and attempting to listen to Angles without conceiving of Casablancas’ remove from the rest of the group only hinders a connection with the songs themselves.
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However, while such obstacles might deflate any other band’s comeback effort, Angles redeems itself through sheer breadth of talented and effective songwriting. Say what you will about The Strokes as mere reflections of their former selves, this record reminds us of exactly why we fell in love with them in the first place. Even now, a full decade after Is This It defined the terms of 21st century rock n’ roll, Angles still proves that no one can interweave guitar lines and rhythmic precision quite like these guys. Coupled with Julian Casablancas’ dedication to infusing a remarkable energy into each melody, the new songs pack enough of a punch to make Angles worth the repeated listening.
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Right off the bat, the reggae-flavored “Machu Picchu” stacks droplets of guitar while Casablancas’ cheeky vocals leap through the song’s tropical pretensions. Eventually, the chorus’s wiry strumming builds into the type of rhythmic instrumental refrain that Strokes fans live for.
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The album’s first single, “Under The Cover Of Darkness,” plays perfectly to all of the band’s strengths: the guitar lines rollick and tumble among themselves, Casablancas belts against the instruments with exhaustive abandon, and the rhythm section pushes forward, keeping them all in line. By the time Albert Hammond Jr.’s razor-sharp guitar slices through a solo in the final minute, the song gushes pure Strokes.
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At other moments though, Angles feels incomplete. This is not the product of a matured, stable band, and while The Who and Fleetwood Mac harnessed instability to their advantage, for The Strokes it often betrays a lack of focus. “Taken For A Fool” grapples with competing guitar lines, bass riffs and vocal inflections in a schizophrenic manner that tends to undermine the song’s coherence. “Call Me Back” dwindles on a wistful chord progression that struggles to evolve beyond its bossa nova feel and sedated singing.
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In the end though, Angles works in those moments when The Strokes find their stride, and the natural fun that results from those interactions gives the album a fresh feel. “Gratisfaction” ambles along with the same elasticity that made Is This It’s “Someday” so loveable, and when “Two Kinds Of Happiness” gives its breakneck guitars full reign on the chorus, nothing feels as cathartic.
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Though struggling to define themselves with internal wounds open enough for the world to see, The Strokes deliver fresh and concise songwriting on Angles with enough invention to leave you wanting more. It’s far from their best album, but after so many years of uncertainty, it’s definitely a comeback.
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Rating: 3.5/5 Standout Tracks: “Machu Picchu,” “Two Kinds Of Happiness,” “Under The Cover Of Darkness”