Strokes, Is this It? album, Rough Trade
First it was White Stripes and now it's Strokes getting the critics into a frenzy. White Stripes lost a few with a gig in London that wasn't what they were expecting, but then a listen to the albums would reveal that some of their stuff is a lot more exciting than others. The point of the thing anyway is that stripped back, lo-fi, urgency is tapping the market for people who would like to return to something they vaguely recall and can't find in dance based music. Fair enough. This is lo-fi-ish analogue stuff. It isn't just a tele and an amp but it is in spirit.
The Strokes album is intelligent and wry, and has tuneful songs and some nice grooves and riffs. It has variety of pace and texture as well; maybe to the annoyance of some people who will get going on a mighty starting groove to find it disappears and is replaced by a bloke singing. Well, some things cross genres more easily than others.
Are these the saviours of guitar based rock/pop? I don't believe so, but they are worth talking about and a lot more interesting than some of the things served up or regurgitated by record companies over the last few years. Anyway, the critic's fave this week is the Hives. (thunderfinger)
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