Music Review: The Strokes

The last time I remember caring about, much less liking, an album by The Strokes was during my middle school glory days. The Strokes were then lauded as the next big thing, perhaps even geniuses. Others tore them apart as being derivative, boring and untalented. And then, for better or for worse, the band’s presence on the international music scene almost completely faded. After 2003, The Strokes started to have internal problems. Hammond Jr.’s unidentified substance abuse problem played a role in the group’s lengthy hiatus, and Casablancas reached a new level of slackerism when he emailed in the lyrics used on Angles.

Comedown Machine shows that the band has new signs of life. This isn’t to say that The Strokes sound like Is This It (2001) or Room on Fire (2003) again. Frankly, The Strokes seem a bit trendier, which already is an improvement over their semi-disastrous 2011 release, Angles. The 1980s throwback element of Comedown Machine launches beyond the vague New Wave analogies to which we are so accustomed from The Stokes. They incorporate the synthesized instrumentals that have been repopularized in the past few years. Even the album art for Comedown Machine alludes to the retro aesthetic of RCA Records when artists like Eurythmics, Rick Springfield and The Fixx called the label home.

Surviving from The Strokes’s original sound are the filtered vocals and chugging guitar punctuated by moments of riff-laden climax. But what truly elevates Comedown Machine above all efforts since 2003’s Room on Fire is the band’s collective cohesion and effort. The vocal energy is back. On a few tracks, singer Julian Casablancas soars, escaping from his traditional distorted vocals. His range is tremendous, as evidenced on “One Way Trigger” when he reaches Mika-esque heights.

On some tracks, like the opening “Tap Out,” funky bass lines and miniature guitar riffs mix well with light vocals. If you can imagine Cut Copy imitating Bowie and A-ha with a little bit of the Cars, you’ve nailed it. On some of the album’s more aggressive tracks, the band still seems upbeat, even with the return of Casablancas’s filtered vocals. “Partners in Crime” is decidedly danceable, and “50/50” is reminiscent of a classic punk hit ripped from the early ’80s.

The synth-pop and ’80s rock embedded throughout Comedown Machine do little to elevate The Strokes to the genius level so many expected a decade ago. And perhaps it makes them more “mainstream,” a term many throw around when they dislike an artist’s new direction. But, after so much time, it’s safer to produce something accessible, motivated and likeable than to continue wandering in search of something elite.