Boy hears band. Boy loves band. Boy buys albums. Band breaks up; boy is sad. Band reunites; boy is happy. Band takes left turn. Boy is furious. Boy whines about band's new fascination with '80s new wave. So the story goes.
This was my initial experience with The Strokes' new album, "Comedown Machine," released on March 26. The Strokes have always been one of my favorite bands. Like many suburban youth, I discovered them after the band's song "Reptilia" (2004) was featured on Guitar Hero 3, but once I had a taste, I couldn't get enough.
Their perfectly imperfect debut, "Is This It" (2001) immediately launched them to the top of the music world, bringing the swagger back to a New York City ravaged by the September 11 attacks. On the surface, their cool was effortless, but closer inspection revealed a perfectionist streak. Live dates like their 2002 "Late Show with David Letterman" debut showed a band working hard to make it look easy, with frontman Julian Casablancas tearing at his leather jacket like it was suffocating him as Albert Hammond, Jr. and Nick Valensi weave an intricate tapestry from their staccato guitar lines.
Fast forward approximately 11 years and you'd have found me on fourth floor Berry, wincing in disgust as song after song of "Comedown Machine" failed to conjure the Strokes that I used to know. Gone were the rock tunes that shambled along in the best possible way; gone was Casablancas' half-hearted braggadocio, that scratchy croon that conveyed worlds of self-doubt and self-confidence.
But somewhere along the road, in the middle of my second listen, my attitude started to change. Just because it doesn't sound like the Strokes that I grew up with doesn't mean that "Comedown Machine" is without merit. The specter of decade-defining hits like "Someday" (2002) and "12:51" (2003) looms large, but if you give it a chance, this album just might grow on you.
The driving force behind the successes of "Comedown Machine" is the band itself: The Strokes are as tight as they've ever been. They used to "work hard and say it's easy," their slacker cool belying the group's simple, carefully crafted arrangements and the studio perfectionism that caused Casablancas to record all of "Is This It" himself. But as their songs have become more complicated and more diverse, the band's talent has become more obvious. Fab Moretti and Nikolai Fraiture never steal the show, but they anchor the rhythm with machine-like precision, appearing equally comfortable on the furious punk blast of "50/50" and the slinky shuffle of album opener "Tap Out." Hammond and Valensi's interlocking guitars are as perfect as ever, performing acrobatic feats on top of the simple, stable beats. As The Strokes have become more comfortable with their talent, the self-doubting modesty has disappearedand has been replaced by a clear and occasionally cocky confidence voiced best on lead single "All the Time," where Casablancas sneers, "You're living a lie, baby, you're trying too hard."
"All The Time" is the only song here that fits into the Strokes' traditional mold. It's certainly not their best song; perhaps that phase of the band's life is over. They explore an incredibly broad array of styles across the 11 tracks on "Comedown Machine" and, despite my initial impressions, they succeed more often than they fail.
Echoing a theme from Casablancas' solo effort "Phrazes for the Young," the Strokes have clearly replaced their Velvet Underground fetish with a hefty '80s obsession, adopting the slinky rhythms of new wave, the jangly guitars of post-punk and even a few cheesy keyboard riffs.
"80's Comedown Machine" is both the most adventurous and the most memorable song here. Guitar lines, woozy synths and stuttering drum beats unfold in slow motion as muddled, sighing vocals echo back and forth from ear to ear. On an album that often takes pains to sound fun, loose and goofy, it's a remarkably mature and well crafted song.
I'm still not sure how I feel about "Comedown Machine." On the one hand it makes me sad because it seems to show that the Strokes of old are just about gone. But on the other, it's exciting to see a band I really enjoy going in a new direction, and a few of the highlights here will definitely be in frequent rotation on my mixtapes and playlists. All in all, as long as the Strokes are still making music, I'll still be listening.
