Label: RCA Records
Release Date: October 21, 2003
Website: www.thestrokes.com
The Strokes
- Room on Fire
Joel Atkinson
(This is a gimmicky review.)
I. Can someone tell me why this CD has SIX or even
SEVEN second gaps between the songs???
II. I really don't feel like describing the backstory
for this CD. So I'll try to summarize quickly. 5 men
in ratty clothing made an album, people acted like it
was the Second Coming (and no, I'm not talking about
that Stone Roses album). Ok, so now I have that out of
the way.
III. Folks, what we have here is more of the same.
They did some recording with producer Nigel Godrich
(Radiohead, fey British bands) sometime last year, but
apparently decided to stick with what made them their
dollar in 2001. It's "raw," and it's "untamed"! And
it's also getting a bit boring. Especially those
distorted vocals.
IV. You know, I really liked This Is It. Everyone
complained because it sounds like an amalgam of
Television and all those other late 70s bands that
I've never actually heard. But I thought it was a very
entertaining album of pop songs. And by the way,
anyone who has actually heard Tom Verlaine and Richard
Lloyd's guitar solos and has the gall to compare that
to these unkempt pretty boys is off their rocker, in
my opinion.
V. This CD is not as good as This Is It. It's
definitely a triumph of form over content. But it has
some good songs. I even think it has some that are
better than anything on the first album. "Meet Me in
the Bathroom" and "The End Has No End" are a bit more
tunefully memorable, and "Under Control" is really
Motown/soul influenced, moreso than anything they've
done before.
VI. For added fun, try to figure out where the synth
ends and the guitar begins on "12:51." Who knows,
maybe it's not a synth at all.
VII. Should you buy this? I dunno. Maybe. I suggest
you borrow it from your hipster friend. If you like
those songs I mentioned above, plus the other couple
good songs, then sure. If not, meh, don't bother.
posted 12.26.03
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Joel Atkinson is not Stephin Merrit, but he does own a ukulele. He'll sing you love songs at theicecreamsocial@yahoo.com
2002 White Elephant
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