It took The Strokes about 17 years to figure out what their band should sound like as adults. They figured it out right in time on The New Abnormal.
In the fall of 2001, I was a confused college junior living in Washington, D.C. in the aftermath of 9/11, walking past a tank that was parked outside my apartment building for months. That whole time frame was a blur, until Is This It landed.
The Strokes’ debut album was exactly what myself, and legions of others, were looking for at that time and place. Millions of words have been written about what their sound, their aesthetic, and their vibe meant. There is no album I’ve listened to more in my life. A close second would be their amazing, if underrated, follow-up in Room on Fire.
As they grew up, the Strokes couldn’t quite get a handle on who they were and what their new sound was supposed to be. Subsequent albums had great tracks surrounded by subpar ones, as rumors around the group’s infighting swirled. Their 2013 album Comedown Machine hopelessly divided fans and critics. Personally, I loved it. As I wrote at the time, I would’ve been okay if the haunting ballad that ended the album, Call It Fate, Call It Karma, was their farewell.
Thankfully, it was not.
Another Frighteningly Accurate Title
In three words, Is This It, accurately summed up the feelings of an entire generation. With three more words, The New Abnormal, encapsulated our lives as the country became confined to their homes.
The song titles alone give an indication of our mental state right now. The Adults Are Talking. Why Are Sundays So Depressing. Not The Same Anymore. Bad Decisions. Did the Strokes take a DeLorean ride to figure out what was coming?
The New Abnormal is not better than Is This It or Room on Fire. But it shouldn’t be. We don’t need those records right now. We need this record. The songs effortlessly blend together, one building up the other, until you’ve listened to the whole thing in 45 minutes and wondered where the time went. Isn’t a nice diversion all we’re really searching for right now?
A Band Divided Cannot Stand
It’s clear after listening to this record that the Strokes have been fractured for the past 17 years. It was evident from the music, but it becomes even more clear when you listen to what they can be when they’re all moving in the same direction. As we all do, they got tired of their teenage friends and they went off to chase their own calling when it comes to music. And as many of us do, they hit the downside of their 30s and realized they missed their real friends.
The album feels like everything the Stokes had worked on since Room on Fire -- their 3 albums together, Julian’s solo work, and Albert’s exquisite Francis Trouble -- were all smashed together to finally discover the sound they were endlessly searching for.
No single song sums this up better than Eternal Summer. Julian plays with his falsetto like he did on Comedown Machine. The energy from the first half of First Impressions of Earth is there in spades. The airy, soothing sounds from songs that worked on Angles are present. The guitar riffs for the chorus are classic Strokes that Albert took to a different level on Francis Trouble.
The band is also no longer writing pop songs, though the choruses and riffs remain as catchy as ever. Is This It was a series of songs that came into your home, smashed some lamps, chugged a beer, and left before you knew they had arrived.
The songs on The New Abnormal hang out. The songs are a journey, which lead into and build upon each other. Musically, the band is your old friend who wants to come over with a bottle of wine, maybe smoke a joint like it’s 2001 again, and chat for an hour to get away from things. It’s a welcome visitor at the moment.
The Music Remains Brilliant
I’m not exactly breaking any new ground here by stating that the Strokes are brilliant musicians. The key difference on The New Abnormal is that, for the first time since Room on Fire, every song is amazing. There are no skippable tracks. It’s a good, old-fashioned album where you want to listen to every song, in order, every time.
Even the two music videos released so far, for Bad Decisions and At The Door, reveal this new sensibility through visuals that hark back to an era when videos were meant to be played on TV 25 times a day. There is a timelessness to the whole act that makes the songs feel fresh at the same time it feels nostalgic. Julian’s voice remains otherworldly. The lead guitars remain blistering. Fabrizio’s drums continue to be the engine.
In the end, it’s the final track where The Strokes put its newfound maturity on full display. The Strokes making a 6-minute song in 2001 would have been pure insanity. They wouldn’t have had anything to say for that long.
On Ode to the Mets, The Strokes are apparently trying to sum up their entire career, the lessons they learned, the lessons they didn’t, and where they are today. It’s a beautiful sonic experience with Julian’s voice playing its role as the band’s lead instrument to perfection. The song title is a not-so-subtle reminder of their NYC roots while the lyrics encompass bigger themes of regret and reflection.
I’m glad I was wrong the Comedown Machine was not the last we heard from The Strokes. The final lyrics of Ode to the Mets do a much better job putting a potential period on a transcendent two decade run of music.
So pardon the silence that you're hearing.
It's turning into a deafening, painful, shameful roar.
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The Strokes’ debut album was exactly what myself, and legions of others, were looking for at that time and place. Millions of words have been written about what their sound, their aesthetic, and their vibe meant. There is no album I’ve listened to more in my life. A close second would be their amazing, if underrated, follow-up in Room on Fire.
As they grew up, the Strokes couldn’t quite get a handle on who they were and what their new sound was supposed to be. Subsequent albums had great tracks surrounded by subpar ones, as rumors around the group’s infighting swirled. Their 2013 album Comedown Machine hopelessly divided fans and critics. Personally, I loved it. As I wrote at the time, I would’ve been okay if the haunting ballad that ended the album, Call It Fate, Call It Karma, was their farewell.
Thankfully, it was not.
Another Frighteningly Accurate Title
In three words, Is This It, accurately summed up the feelings of an entire generation. With three more words, The New Abnormal, encapsulated our lives as the country became confined to their homes.
The song titles alone give an indication of our mental state right now. The Adults Are Talking. Why Are Sundays So Depressing. Not The Same Anymore. Bad Decisions. Did the Strokes take a DeLorean ride to figure out what was coming?
The New Abnormal is not better than Is This It or Room on Fire. But it shouldn’t be. We don’t need those records right now. We need this record. The songs effortlessly blend together, one building up the other, until you’ve listened to the whole thing in 45 minutes and wondered where the time went. Isn’t a nice diversion all we’re really searching for right now?
A Band Divided Cannot Stand
It’s clear after listening to this record that the Strokes have been fractured for the past 17 years. It was evident from the music, but it becomes even more clear when you listen to what they can be when they’re all moving in the same direction. As we all do, they got tired of their teenage friends and they went off to chase their own calling when it comes to music. And as many of us do, they hit the downside of their 30s and realized they missed their real friends.
The album feels like everything the Stokes had worked on since Room on Fire -- their 3 albums together, Julian’s solo work, and Albert’s exquisite Francis Trouble -- were all smashed together to finally discover the sound they were endlessly searching for.
No single song sums this up better than Eternal Summer. Julian plays with his falsetto like he did on Comedown Machine. The energy from the first half of First Impressions of Earth is there in spades. The airy, soothing sounds from songs that worked on Angles are present. The guitar riffs for the chorus are classic Strokes that Albert took to a different level on Francis Trouble.
The band is also no longer writing pop songs, though the choruses and riffs remain as catchy as ever. Is This It was a series of songs that came into your home, smashed some lamps, chugged a beer, and left before you knew they had arrived.
The songs on The New Abnormal hang out. The songs are a journey, which lead into and build upon each other. Musically, the band is your old friend who wants to come over with a bottle of wine, maybe smoke a joint like it’s 2001 again, and chat for an hour to get away from things. It’s a welcome visitor at the moment.
The Music Remains Brilliant
I’m not exactly breaking any new ground here by stating that the Strokes are brilliant musicians. The key difference on The New Abnormal is that, for the first time since Room on Fire, every song is amazing. There are no skippable tracks. It’s a good, old-fashioned album where you want to listen to every song, in order, every time.
Even the two music videos released so far, for Bad Decisions and At The Door, reveal this new sensibility through visuals that hark back to an era when videos were meant to be played on TV 25 times a day. There is a timelessness to the whole act that makes the songs feel fresh at the same time it feels nostalgic. Julian’s voice remains otherworldly. The lead guitars remain blistering. Fabrizio’s drums continue to be the engine.
On Ode to the Mets, The Strokes are apparently trying to sum up their entire career, the lessons they learned, the lessons they didn’t, and where they are today. It’s a beautiful sonic experience with Julian’s voice playing its role as the band’s lead instrument to perfection. The song title is a not-so-subtle reminder of their NYC roots while the lyrics encompass bigger themes of regret and reflection.
I’m glad I was wrong the Comedown Machine was not the last we heard from The Strokes. The final lyrics of Ode to the Mets do a much better job putting a potential period on a transcendent two decade run of music.
So pardon the silence that you're hearing.
It's turning into a deafening, painful, shameful roar.
Follow me on Twitter
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