If landmark albums of the 21st century had a clear frontrunner, it would no doubt present itself in the form of New York-hailing garage rock revival band, The Strokes', ground-breaking 2001 studio debut. Perhaps the pinnacle of the five piece's unmistakable lo-fi rock sound, the album was met with almost unrivalled critical acclaim and an insatiable new found fan base for the band, rife with sprawling guitars, a simplistically wholesome rock 'n' roll vibe and lead singer Julian Casablancas' distinctive gravelly vocal style. The album, whilst heavily influenced by the uplifting drum beats and instrumental prowess of earlier classic American rock bands such as the likes of The Doors and The Velvet Underground, struck a previously almost unimaginable balance between technical ingenuity and authenticity-drenched soul and rapacious liveliness. Not only advocating the extent of The Strokes' visionary and creative mastery, the album acted, in a way, as a mouthpiece for the Libertines-era garage rock revival of the late '90s and early '00s, its unapologetically brusque instrumental and conceptual simplicity setting the bar for countless indie rock outfits of 'The Modern Age' to contend with.
Originally formed through a combination of school and mutual friends in 1998, the band, comprising lead singer Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture and drummer Fabrizio Moretti, released their 2001 triumph through American label RCA Records after a protracted bidding war with revered British independent label Rough Trade Records, amidst a spate of part-time jobs and hiring of a small recording space, in which they practiced new material during the week. In the months leading up the album's production, they joined forces with record producer Gil Norton, who had previously worked with alternative rock ensembles such as Pixies and Echo & the Bunnymen, and later Gordon Raphael, who ostensibly was more adept at maintaining the band's raw, explosive low-fidelity sound, which has become so synonymous with them as a band.
Lead tracks from the album such as 'Last Nite' and 'Hard To Explain' perfectly showcase Casablancas' piercing vocal acidity and its ironic harmoniousness against the punk-infused bluntness of Valensi/Hammond Jr.'s guitar and Moretti's dishevelled drum backing. Mop-headed-leather-jacket-clad-ginger-beer-drinking casual rockers is the image that springs to mind upon listening to this album, and it's safe to say that The Strokes themselves fit the bill. Casablancas' natural aptitude for witty and heartfelt lyricism is undeniable, striking a chord with the band's original struggling-yet-hopeful-twenty-something demographic, and that of countless years to come. Casablancas:
'You play a few chords and sing a melody that's been done a thousand times, and now you're a singer-songwriter. I think it takes a little more than that to do something that matters. And I wish I could write a song where all the parts work. When you hear a song like that, it's like finding a new friend'
The album relies predominantly on simple metronomic drum lines, a recurring feature throughout most of the record, strikingly iconic riffs and technically demanding guitar solos, as well as being strongly infused with a 'rockabilly' element. This is particularly prominent on tracks such as 'Someday', exhibiting a brash but melodic build up to the clash of guitars in the chorus and charismatic, upbeat vibe. What's particularly potent is the deceptively simple and gimmick-free structure and concept to the majority of songs on the tracks, with even the assumed 'filler' tracks pushing to the forefront of the listener's attention with absolute ease: an effortless concoction of warmth and optimism, interwoven with just the right amount of grit. 'Barely Legal' amalgamates a staccato sing-along verse, interspersed with abrasive hooks and Casablancas' rough scrawling vocals, lamenting of how 'I didn't take no shortcuts, I spent the money that I saved up, aw mama runnin' out of luck, well like my sister don't give a fuck'. 'Soma' is another number exemplary of the staccato feel prevalent on some of the album's tracks, with the band launching from its jaunty disjointed verse into a crescendo-type chorus. The same can be said for 'When It Started', with its coarse jagged opening guitar riff leading into an adrenalin-packed build into 'New York City cops, New York City cops!' (the song's original title, in fact, before it was changed in the US following the 9/11 terrorist attacks of the same year of the record's release). Casablancas explores a marginally darker and more brooding tone in tracks like 'Alone, Together', in which gruff vocals meet frenetic overlapping guitars, emulating the forlorn nature of the track.
The Strokes' knack for combining the rough and the tousled with the delicate and the tender is a feat not necessarily encompassed, but attempted, by scores of budding garage/indie rock outfits in the years kicking off the 21st century since the album's 2001 release, with Valensi and Hammond Jr.'s technical finesse transcending into music of now similarly (but not quite equally) revered bands such as Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs and The Vaccines. Their overnight rise to acclaim is no doubt paramount to the post-punk/garage revival of the early '00s and acts to ensure the legacy of equally hedonistic and pioneering ensembles of the '80s and '90s is upheld and nurtured in the form of the next generation of guitar bands emerging from both British and American music scenes. 'Is This It' remains a landmark album on the wall to success for this new generation, without question.
Last Nite - The Strokes
Someday - The Strokes
No comments:
Post a Comment