After years of battling drugs and alcohol, along with weird side projects and talk of the band splitting for good, The Strokes are back with new album ‘Comedown Machine’.
After that ‘Angles’ album, poor to say the least, most Strokes fans, including myself, were wondering what on earth had happened to the band that created one of the greatest albums of all time with ‘Is This It?’. Most of us are still wondering, especially after hearing lead single ‘One Way Trigger’, which sounds more of an A-Ha tribute gone wrong instead of a Strokes song. But similar to ‘Angles’, the lead single doesn’t tell you music about the album.
The first 5 seconds of album opener ‘Tap Out’ grabs your attention and has you thinking, Yes! An older sounding Strokes song, then we hit that ‘Angles’ feeling, quickly deflating any hope. Don’t get me wrong its far better than the tracks on ‘Angles’ and certainly not a bad opening track, but we all just want tracks like we know The Strokes are capable of. Parts of the album certainly provide that though.
‘All The Time’ and, especially, ’50/50′ take you back, the old punkiness feeling that made The Strokes have re-appeared. ’50/50′ is a definite future Strokes classic and indie floor filler for sure.
The rest of the album has its good parts but, unfortunately, some bad tracks too. ’80’s Comedown Machine’ and album ending ‘Call It Fate Call It Karma’ make you scratch your head and wonder were the band completely off their heads whilst thinking they were in the jungle instead of a recording studio? Yeah, they’re pretty poor. But from low points to more highs, ‘Slow Animals’ is a mix of old and seemingly the new Strokes, the new more synthy sound with them old guitar riffs still present. ‘Partners In Crime’ gives fans another chance to dance, another track to remember and, quite possibly, another future classic.
The album has more good than poor and it’s a far better album than ‘Angles’, but its certainly not a classic. One thing is for sure though, The Strokes are certainly on the trail back to their best. I for one certainly hope they stick around to play more festival slots and, hopefully, head out on a UK Tour.