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Volume 71, Issue 69,
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Life & Arts Strokes leave a big 'Impression' Latest album has band exploring new ground by ENRIQUE DOMINGUEZ
No one knows how to kick off the new year better than the original booze-induced, model and actress dating New York hipsters The Strokes. Julian Casablancas and Co. follow-up the two previous -- and almost identical -- Gordon Rafael-produced releases with their third full-length album, First Impressions of Earth. This time producer David Kahne (311, Sublime) takes the boards giving the Strokes more room to expand outside of the garage and into arenas. Their first single, the innocently-titled "Juicebox," may throw die-hard fans off kilter with its shark attack guitar riffs and Casablancas' unmuffled howl, but after the first listen, they will be screaming along, "Why won't you come over here / We've got a city to love." The Strokes' new found fondness of infusing metal into their neo-garage brand of music is also evident in the track "Heart in a Cage," where guitarist Nick Valensi opens the song with a sinister guitar solo backed by drummer Fabrizio Moretti's thunderous downbeat. Casablancas rounds out the song with lyrics about feeling tired of life as a rock star. The album deals with topics such as alienation, self-loathing and boredom, which are not the make-up of a typical Strokes album. The opening track "You Only Live Once" takes off where 2002's Room On Fire left off with Cars-inspired power pop. In addition, "Razorblade" will melt every Converse All-Star-wearing 16-year-old's heart. And "On the Other Side" will definitely be on the list of many drunken frat-party sing-a-longs to come. Kahne's production shines on "Electricityscape" and "Ize of the World" where the Strokes exhibit the potential they have to make atmospheric pop music as well as U2 or Coldplay. "Killing Lies" and "Fear of Sleep" bring the Strokes back from uncharted waters to the New York club scene where it all began for them with influences from peers The Walkmen and French Kicks. On "Ask Me Anything," the Strokes take experimentation far beyond their control. Casablancas rambles, "I've got nothing to say" through the majority of the track, which is backed only by a keyboard mimicking the sounds of a symphony. The album is bookended by another tune influenced by Ric Ocasek and his crew. "Red Light" brings back Valensi's laser beam guitar found on Room On Fire's "12:51" and "The End Has No End." First Impressions proves that the Strokes don't have to compete with The Killers and Franz Ferdinand for the crown of cool. The group has paid its dues by consistently producing material that establishes an individual sound, and now the musicians have a little well-earned room to spread themselves out over various styles. If the band continues to experiment in their niche they'll keep making music that not only pleases their fans, but helps them grow as musicians as well.
The Strokes First Impressions of Earth
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