The Strokes - First Impressions Of Earth (RCA, 2006)

[Mangle]

I wrote this review for tinymixtapes but it didn't get used. Enjoy!
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The Strokes
http://www.thestrokes.com/
styles: indie rock, garage punk, new wave, dispassionate cool
others: The Stooges, Interpol, Television

First Impressions Of Earth
RCA (RIAA), 2006
rating: 2/5
reviewer: filmore mescalito holmes

I know I’m not the only one who thinks back on the arrival of The Strokes in Western pop culture not unlike The Shitty Beatles explosion. And like the meteoric rise and fall of that twice mentioned Wayne’s World band [“They suck.”], the backlash against the heralded saviours of indie rock was swift and bittersweet…and getting increasingly bitter as time goes on. I can’t help but wonder if RCA Records’ longstanding R.I.A.A. membership –making all Strokes releases about as far from indie as you can get– might have had something to do with it. Regardless, I loved The Strokes well before I heard anything about them, thanks to the world’s finest post-Napster download service circa 2001, AudioGalaxy.
They blew up fast, as you well know. I bought a membership in their fan club as soon as it was available. In fact, I’ve still got the exclusive “Elephant (demo)” seven inch and the laminated Wyckyd Sceptre all access tour pass, among other trinkets. As soon as they came to the nearest town of some 500 miles roundtrip, and I could afford it, I dragged my best friend, his girlfriend, and my cousin to the show. It was then that I began to notice something wrong. This was, after all, the New York hipsters’ third visit to Vancouver in fourteen months and they still had never given an encore to anyone. Which is more, compared to the opening set by the hardworking Canadian icons of Sloan, they seemed totally disinterested and refused to engage the crowd in any way except to let us know they weren’t gonna come back out. So it wasn’t just the non-act itself that started me wondering but the way in which they did it, with total dispassionate indifference. I know it’s a cool band thing to do, to pretend not to care, but you really got the feeling these guys meant it when you saw them live. I began to question the decision to self-ban “New York City Cops” from North America, now leaning more to the side that sees The Strokes as a spineless, say nothing jukebox. I felt something like shame for liking them so much in the first place.
Hope briefly returned when rumours were confirmed that, in preparation for their ambivalently anticipated and dreaded sophomore release, the drab five were working with Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich. This hope was quickly dashed, however, as they dropped the legendary Ok Computer knob twiddler to return last minute to their old lo-fi chum Gordon Raphael, who had produced their continually repackaged debut, this time with a much more handsome advance of studio greasing cash. The money got some new wave Muzak rights, some special effects from Tron, and the indie rock backlash officially began. I remember welcoming the retro-rock revolution as the antidote to boy/girl bands, praying deeply for an end to the likes of *NSYNC (whom we’ve been mentally suffocated with longs before the days when you could blame it on the rain), but it was an end that would never come. Instead, much like the early nineties alternative craze, this “new” breed of rock groups would swell in and absorb the industry overflow, almost simultaneously marginalizing the burgeoning trend step for step (The Killers chose one hell of an appropriate name). And all The Strokes could do, if they could care, was to try and prove they were more than just a passing fad. The jury is out on that one.
So here we are, some five years after last night, and it’s time for the new Strokes. Something’s already amiss, though, as First Impressions Of Earth missed the accountant declared prime September/October CD release period, which is a first for a Strokes album on American soil. The question of whether they were just late or no longer thought they could compete come holiday season is still up in the air. By the first chorus of the opening track, the faithful listener is shown why such doubts would be understandable. Raw recorder Raphael has been replaced by long time Sugar Ray man David Kahne, who has taken it upon himself to clean up the signature cheap and fuzzy sound Gordon helped to shape. In this effort, the frailty of Julian Casablancas’ voice, in terms of it being able to carry an album, is exposed and his inadequacy as a lyricist comes glaringly into focus, out from behind the broken mic curtain. I’m not really sure how you’re meant to look at the continually repeated line “I’ve got nothing to say” from “Ask Me Anything” but it’s far too easy to take it at face value. There is nothing challenging here vocally and the instrumentals have pretty much stayed the same, except for the previously mentioned, minimally synthed “Ask Me Anything” and the “Peter Gunn” spy-rock bassline intro to the poorly chosen lead single “Juicebox.” However, instead of the usual brisk thirty minutes, here you get to enjoy nearly a full hour of continual strumming in similar patterns almost the whole time you can hear guitars. None of the people playing on this record have improved themselves much. And so, with the ghost of Mark McGrath hanging over every note, First Impressions sounds like a top notch Strokes pub circuit cover band. It’s the end of the world as we know it, and it sounds like they couldn’t really care either way. It was a good run while it lasted.

01. You Only Live Once
02. Juicebox
03. Heart In A Cage
04. Razorblade
05. On The Other Side
06. Vision Of Division
07. Ask Me Anything
08. Electricityscape
09. Killing Lies
10. Fear Of Sleep
11. 15 Minutes
12. Ize Of The World
13. Evening Sun
14. Red Light

[*STARFISH*]

well written review :)
however im gonna totally disagree with you
i <3 this album.. i cant stop listening to it.. esp the first 5 tracks..
heart in a cage is awesome.
just simply awesome. lol :p

[Mangle]

Originally Posted by *STARFISH*

well written review :)

Um...thanks.

[Mangle]

...well? This was a major release for indie rock early in the year. What do you guys think of it?

[(*disco*)]

I love the new album. I think that the first half is the better half. My favorite tracks are You Only Live Once and Razorblade.

I have to admit I had my hands on it from a promo that I ganked off the 'net in early December and I proceeded to listen it to death.

I love the angst and haterism, which is why I love bands like NIN and radiohead, so this album didn't really disappoint me at all.

[Mangle]

Originally Posted by (*disco*)

I love the angst and haterism

But they're like 30, married, and sober now. Blink 182, anyone?

[Mangle]

This and other reviews/articles/interviews of mine are now up on my own website (thanx mom):
http://www.aranta.net/