thevoid99's Full Review: Is This It by The Strokes
If there was one city in America that was the heart of rock n’ roll, it was New York City. In the early 60s at the Tin Pan Alley building, up and budding songwriters like Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Neil Diamond, Mike Leiber and Jerry Stoller were writing hit songs for other artists that gave pop music a clean but powerful sound where some of those songwriters would come to their own stardom in the future. In the late 1960s, underground rock icons the Velvet Underground and leader Lou Reed helped paved the way for a new music movement that went away from the sweet pop sounds of the 60s into a more taboo and darker territory with their avant-garde sound. In the 1970s, Reed went on to a powerful solo career that would last for years to come where he would be hailed by many artists as “The King of New York City”. Reed’s influence would help catapult a new musical movement in NYC where a small group of young people rebelled against the bland corporate rock establishment that became punk led by groups like Blondie, Television, the Ramones, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, and many others. In the 1980s, hip-hop became the capital for New York City with groups like Run DMC, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five help lead rap music into the mainstream while avant-garde noise rockers Sonic Youth were becoming icons in Alternative Rock. Now, the Great Big Apple has a new kept secret that is the antithesis of the current music scene. They are the Strokes.
The Strokes are a powerful quintet from New York City formed by singer/songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fab Moretti. When they formed in 1999 and played many clubs in NYC, buzz were surrounding this powerful quintet who have been widely compared to such famous New York bands like Television, the Velvet Underground, and Lou Reed along with punk rock godfather Iggy Pop and his legendary proto-punk band the Stooges. When they released an EP called “The Modern Age” in early 2001, the band suddenly won rave reviews among both the press in the U.S. and U.K. The buzz surrounding this young quintet gave them some unneeded hype when some people called the next Velvet Underground or the new Nirvana where everyone says they will be the band that will wipe out the current scene of teen pop and rap-metal. Whatever the hype is that’s surrounding the Strokes, there’s no hype surrounding their music, which is a wonderful blend of good ol’ New York City rock n’ roll. On their debut album titled “Is This It”, this is a pretty refreshing album that is the antithesis of the bland, rap-metal scene that had been dominated rock for the past few years.
The first song off of “Is This It” is the Velvet-inspired title track that bouncy bass hooks from Nikolai Fraiture along with lovely guitar textures from Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr. along with lovely vocals from Julian Casablanca who sounds like a mix of Lou Reed, Tom Verlaine of Television, and Iggy Pop. “The Modern Age” is powerful rock track with Velvet-like guitar assaults and powerful drum beats from Fab Moretti while Casablancas brings in some great vocals that sound a little bit like Lou Reed while Hammond brings in a great bluesy guitar solo in the middle of the song. “Soma” is a wonderful and bouncy track that has a little bit of elements from post-punk icons Television in the guitar tracks from Valensi and Hammond who both bring in sparse post-punk guitar textures with a solid rhythm section of Fraiture and Moretti bringing in a bouncy rhythm while Casablancas brings in hoarse and powerful vocals. “Barely Legal” is a fast and fun rock n’ roll track that is highlighted in its fast and consistent guitar work of Valensi and Hammond who brings in a great guitar solo early in the song while Moretti and Fraiture keep bringing in a bouncy yet solid rhythm hook.
“Someday” is a catchy yet jangly rock tune spurred by its chiming guitar hooks and Casablancas brings in excellent vocals into the song with Fraiture and Moretti bringing the rhythm track into a bouncy and catchy approach which makes this song a great rock n’ roll tune. “Alone, Together” is another catchy rock tune with its quirky guitar hooks from Valensi and Hammond with a pulsating bass hook from Fraiture while Casablancas brings in hypnotic and ominous vocals while Hammond belts a powerful guitar solo almost at the end of the song. “Last Nite” is a lovely rock n’ roll tune that is reminiscent in the upbeat drum style in Iggy Pop’s 1977 classic album “Lust For Life” with David Bowie. Moretti’s drum tracks are very consistent and catchy while Valensi and Hammond bring in gritty and rough edge guitar hooks while Hammond brings in a solo in the middle of the song with Casablancas belting out growling vocals throughout the song. “Hard To Explain” is a lovely guitar-driven track highlighted by Valensi and Hammond’s sparse and Ramones-like guitar assault with Fraiture accompanying them with his fast bass hooks and Casablancas brings in angst-ridden vocals where for a second, the song stops and then comes back.
“When It Started” is another gritty-guitar track that features jangly guitar hooks from Valensi and Hammond with quirky bass from Fraiture and pulsating beats from Moretti with Casablancas bringing in powerful and rough vocals. Originally, “New York City Cops” was supposed to be the 9th track on this album but thanks to Bin Laden and his b*tches at the Taliban for blowing up the World Trade Center in NYC on Sept. 11 of this year, “New York City Cops” was removed from the U.S. and Canadian printings of this album and was replaced by “When It Started”, a b-side track from an old single. “Trying Your Luck” is a lovely mid-tempo rock track that is spurred by Hammond’s post-punk/Ramones-like guitar solo and Casablancas Reed-like vocals. “Take It Or Leave It” is a fast, guitar-driven track that is highlighted by Casablancas’ angst-ridden vocals backed by a powerful and catchy rhythm section of Fraiture and Moretti with the sparse and solid guitar assaults of Valensi and Hammond who brings in a great guitar solo near the end of the song.
The Strokes’ “Is This It” is a great debut effort from the NYC-based band. Of course, some will complain the album is too short since it’s thirty-six minutes long but who cares? It’s thirty-six minutes of fun rock n’ roll music. These guys aren’t the next Velvet Underground or Nirvana but they are a very promising group who will probably have a good future in the years to come. My only complaint about this record is the inclusion of “New York City Cops” which I heard is a great track but I can live it with it. Overall, “Is This It” by the Strokes is a wonderful debut release that proves that all that teen-pop and rap-metal bullsh*t is still weak in comparison to the good ol’ NYC rock n’ roll the Strokes are belting out for the future. Love Live New York City!
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