The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth
Rating
RIYL
The LibertinesDivision of Laura Lee
Phantom Planet (s/t only)
BRMC
Jet
Label
RCATracklist
1. You Only Live Once2. Juicebox
3. Heart in a Cage
4. Razorblade
5. On the Other Side
6. Vision of Division
7. Ask Me Anything
8. Electricityscape
9. Killing Lies
10. Fear of Sleep
11. 15 Minutes
12. Ize of the World
13. Evening Sun
14. Red Light
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After one listen to First Impressions of Earth, it'd be pretty easy to ask yourself if The Strokes even care anymore. After two or three, it'd be even easier to ask yourself why you still care. On Strokes album number three, the band, for the first time whether you love them or hate them, are lacking quality control. Their first two records were consistently tight examples of why minimalist garage rock was awesome, but Earth lacks almost everything that made The Strokes a good band in the first place. Not only are they trying too hard to branch out into more involved rock pieces, but their songs aren't catchy anymore and the band sounds tired. There's only a couple instances on Earth that actually match the intensity and emotion of anything on the band's first two records -- one starts off the album ("You Only Live Once") and the other is the fourth track in ("Razorblades"). Other than that, there's twelve tracks of mediocre, sometimes god-awful rock that really doesn't have a purpose for existing other than to annoy fans of the band.
Even if you've hated this band from day one, you can usually at least respect the fact that The Strokes were pretty good at acting like grunge (or even the 80s) never happened. But now, The Strokes, like rock music itself, have felt the need to expand their sound in their attempts to stay relevant in a very fickle atmosphere. However, when the public only liked you because you weren't like every other band, it's kind of hard to see them liking you as they see you become the bands they ditched to listen to you in the first place. Like the horrible, horrible Vines before them, The Strokes have lost their focus in an attempt to remove themselves from their self-pidgeonholed genre exercises. Earth too often stalls in its own ambitions, which is funny, because it seems like singer Julian Casablancas knows it's a dead end. Over and over, he sings "I've got nothing left to say" on the dreadful "Ask Me Anything".
Yes, The Strokes seem bored with themselves, and it shows. Maybe this is their way of bowing out, or maybe this is just them farting around. Either way, First Impressions of Earth is a dud. Having two amazing songs, give-or-take three or four good ones, and a definite set of seven bad ones, it's safe to say that this album should be avoided. Wait for the inevitable Best Of collection that will be coming out after this band decides to hang it up for good, or god forbid, download the good songs from Itunes and save yourself ten bucks.
--Timothy Golden
Comments
Tuscaloosa, AL
VT
My Top Songs of '09
The Appleseed Cast//as the little things go
Caspian//sycamore
Sunwrae//Chinook Winds
Dredg//down to the seller
If These Trees Could Talk//the sun is in the north
From Monument to Masses//an ounce of prevention
Straylight Run//i'm through with the past
LpShinobi's Post-Rock and Shoegazing Recommendation, via YouTube
Lpshinobi's Post-Rock Band, New Song Posted
brightblack morning light
My website
Maine
this album is good fools
Sacramento, CA
you'd pay 2 bucks for the two good songs instead of $16 for those two, plus the crap.
nice review, by the way. liked it a lot. won't be listening to this album any time soon.
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Anytown USA
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Green Brook, NJ
Toledo, Ohio
Behind you!
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Green Brook, NJ
Behind you!
"I too have an uncle... come in..."