The Strokes - Comedown Machine (19/03/2013)
The Strokes have surprised fans today with a free online streaming of their fifth studio album Comedown Machine. Although diehard fans have pre-ordered the record in anticipation, the public are free to critique and listen ahead today.
After the lukewarm critical response of the long awaited ‘Angels’ record in 2011, The Strokes had a lot to prove in their follow-up. It’s apparent that the NYC lads like making albums as much as we like listening to subpar unfished LP’s. Alas, fans were longing for the magic of their garage rock revival Gods to reappear in their next offering.
The record kicks off with a squealing riff which makes you think The Strokes have gone back to garage safe, you’re wrong. ‘Tap Out’ quickly puts you in the soundtracked driver seat of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Now we all remember the Julian Casablancas solo record Phrazes For The Young as a vivid rediscovery of the synth and appreciation for 80’s new-wave. This opener begs the question, is this Julian’s follow-up solo work masquerading as a Strokes record?
‘All The Time’ makes you feel safe again as it bares all the qualities of a typical Strokes song. It’s regardfully lo-fi and the chorus is catchy in a repetitive sense. It’s one of those songs you wouldn’t get mad about hearing in a bar but you wouldn’t crank it at a houseparty. You don’t want to be that person, trust me.
‘One Way Trigger’ starts like out like The Rapture’s ‘No Sex For Ben’ but then turns into an A-ha fucking sex nightmare. I can’t even talk about the song that crushed one of the biggest Strokes fans I’ve ever met in my life. The song literally ruined him.
The album moves into the furthermore 80’s inspired ‘Made In Japan’. Around this point it becomes apparent that Casablancas was found buried in old Duran Duran records before being pulled out to record a new album. But he’s right when he asks, “What kind of asshole drives a Lotus?”. This is probably the best track so far if you can ignore a once defined band searching for their identity.
There are a lot of songs you listen to in your room on any given eccy Tuesday, but ‘80’s Comedown Machine’ would not be one of them. It’s a nice slow paced number but there’s just so much going on in this production it’s almost distracting.
Julian’s classic vocals reappear on ‘50/50’ in this gritty and perfectly distorted track. I feel like this is one of the few tracks on the album that sounds like the whole band is working together in their element. Props to drummer Fabrizio Moretti who comes to be the real star of this song.
‘Slow Animals’ brings our attention to the handy work of guitarist Nick Valensi and bassist Nikolai Fraiture because they’re great and because there’s nowhere else to look. Casablancas insists on pushing his vocal range with almost unnecessary falsetto. The only cute thing about this track is the laughing at the end. I struggle to find a place for this song on the record. The same goes for ‘Partners In Crime’ although the vocals are barely audible. The pace of this song makes me feel like it might have belonged more so on the previous Angels record.
The spotlight falls on Casablancas again in ‘Chances’ as he tries out another falsetto in this dainty and spacey paced number. I don’t mind this track so much on its own but it’s safe to say I never thought I’d find it on a Strokes record.
‘Happy Ending’ reassures you that there is no set pace for Comedown Machine. The song alternates between complex riffs and stretches of whimsical vocal stylings and much like the album, it is very confused about what it’s supposed to be.
The Strokes fifth offering comes to an end with ‘Call It Fate, Call It Karma’. This quaint little number insists someone was listening to a lot of Tom Waits when penning this song. It’s a good outro but much like it’s album brothers and sisters, simply has no connection with the rest of the album.
I have to say, I feel the same way about bands taking new musical direction as I do about parental divorce. Apart from being the only thing holding the past and present together for the artists and my parents, I’m usually wildly ignorant to the benefits. In this case however, there seems to be no fruits of The Strokes progression as a band which really asks the question, is this it?
Samantha Dickson
After the lukewarm critical response of the long awaited ‘Angels’ record in 2011, The Strokes had a lot to prove in their follow-up. It’s apparent that the NYC lads like making albums as much as we like listening to subpar unfished LP’s. Alas, fans were longing for the magic of their garage rock revival Gods to reappear in their next offering.
The record kicks off with a squealing riff which makes you think The Strokes have gone back to garage safe, you’re wrong. ‘Tap Out’ quickly puts you in the soundtracked driver seat of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Now we all remember the Julian Casablancas solo record Phrazes For The Young as a vivid rediscovery of the synth and appreciation for 80’s new-wave. This opener begs the question, is this Julian’s follow-up solo work masquerading as a Strokes record?
‘All The Time’ makes you feel safe again as it bares all the qualities of a typical Strokes song. It’s regardfully lo-fi and the chorus is catchy in a repetitive sense. It’s one of those songs you wouldn’t get mad about hearing in a bar but you wouldn’t crank it at a houseparty. You don’t want to be that person, trust me.
‘One Way Trigger’ starts like out like The Rapture’s ‘No Sex For Ben’ but then turns into an A-ha fucking sex nightmare. I can’t even talk about the song that crushed one of the biggest Strokes fans I’ve ever met in my life. The song literally ruined him.
The album moves into the furthermore 80’s inspired ‘Made In Japan’. Around this point it becomes apparent that Casablancas was found buried in old Duran Duran records before being pulled out to record a new album. But he’s right when he asks, “What kind of asshole drives a Lotus?”. This is probably the best track so far if you can ignore a once defined band searching for their identity.
There are a lot of songs you listen to in your room on any given eccy Tuesday, but ‘80’s Comedown Machine’ would not be one of them. It’s a nice slow paced number but there’s just so much going on in this production it’s almost distracting.
Julian’s classic vocals reappear on ‘50/50’ in this gritty and perfectly distorted track. I feel like this is one of the few tracks on the album that sounds like the whole band is working together in their element. Props to drummer Fabrizio Moretti who comes to be the real star of this song.
‘Slow Animals’ brings our attention to the handy work of guitarist Nick Valensi and bassist Nikolai Fraiture because they’re great and because there’s nowhere else to look. Casablancas insists on pushing his vocal range with almost unnecessary falsetto. The only cute thing about this track is the laughing at the end. I struggle to find a place for this song on the record. The same goes for ‘Partners In Crime’ although the vocals are barely audible. The pace of this song makes me feel like it might have belonged more so on the previous Angels record.
The spotlight falls on Casablancas again in ‘Chances’ as he tries out another falsetto in this dainty and spacey paced number. I don’t mind this track so much on its own but it’s safe to say I never thought I’d find it on a Strokes record.
‘Happy Ending’ reassures you that there is no set pace for Comedown Machine. The song alternates between complex riffs and stretches of whimsical vocal stylings and much like the album, it is very confused about what it’s supposed to be.
The Strokes fifth offering comes to an end with ‘Call It Fate, Call It Karma’. This quaint little number insists someone was listening to a lot of Tom Waits when penning this song. It’s a good outro but much like it’s album brothers and sisters, simply has no connection with the rest of the album.
I have to say, I feel the same way about bands taking new musical direction as I do about parental divorce. Apart from being the only thing holding the past and present together for the artists and my parents, I’m usually wildly ignorant to the benefits. In this case however, there seems to be no fruits of The Strokes progression as a band which really asks the question, is this it?
Samantha Dickson