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EDIT INFOThe Strokes - Is This It?
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Album Details
- Artist: The Strokes
- Album: Is This It?
- Label: RCA
- Year of Release: 2001
- ME Rating: Indie Classic
- Reviewed by: dscanland on 2003-04-01
RecommendIf you haven't heard about the Strokes yet then you must be living in the Arctic Circle and don't have any access to any press materials whatsoever. The Strokes are one of the most hyped bands in recent years. They have already had comparisons to Velvet Underground and Television (I would have to agree with the Television comment). Let's just say that they borrow a lot from many key New York bands but ultimately rework their influences to become one of this decade's most original bands to come out of the US in quite sometime. The Strokes don't come off as really heavy band. Instead they work on nifty hooks that they sometimes exploit into something that vaguely reminds me of the Velvets. You decide. Either way, the Strokes are a very intelligent rock band that is able to take influences and melt them down to build something new. They play along with very different melodies that sometimes sound forced but after repeated listens really become addictive. This is indeed worthy of all the hype that it has been seeing lately. Don't miss out.
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Tell us why this album is great or sucks ass, or correct the reviewer. If you write enough quality reviews you may find yourself on the editorial staff.
Reviews have to be over 100 words, shorter ones are classed as comments.
Log In or Register to Rate Albumson 2008-03-22 dscanland Said:
Honestly, that is one of the best first user reviews I've seen on this site. Great work Dromerica. And it brought be back to listen to an old favorite I'd forgotten about.
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on 2008-03-21 Dromerica Said:
The Strokes' debut album begins with a nod to all the press coverage the New Yorkers have recieved in 2001 leading up to it's release. Julian Casablancas does his best Lou Reed, crooning into a cheap microphone, "Is this it?", and finally after the opener is finshed, you realize that it is so much more. Everyone was too caught up playing 'who's your daddy?' with this record that some missed out on how orignal it actually is, albeit not worth the 'Saviours of Rock' tag. The stomping "The Modern Age" has so much to owe to the Velvets, but still there has never been a better reincarnation of Reed's work before this. It's so simple, so basic, but so exciting. The album itself will wear out before the greatness of the song. "Soma" follows with its instant catchiness, and "Barely Legal" has furious downstrokes, and no particular catchy aspect, but is easily one of the album's best cuts. As for that ubiquitous single, "Last Nite", well it's my favorite, at least. The track has an infectious boogie beat and sing-along chorus, neatly packaged to be one of the defining moments of the garage rock revival. The remaining songs on the album are just as flawless, no way around it. The songwriting formula Casablancas has employed for Is This It, makes it impossible not to write something that's immediatley catchy. Would they live up to the hype? No, but the bottom line is that this album is un-fuck-with-able.
Rating: 10/10
