Reviewers have had a hard time getting over the fact that the two middle Strokes-albums haven't been it the way Is This It was it, but The Strokes have made them it now in this game of tag, and they're it because this, Angles, mightn't be exactly it, but it's the shit! Spearheaded by the reggae groove of opener 'Machu Picchu' (sic), and the above-mentioned trippy single, Angles is actually a very enjoyable listen! All right, the new-wave intro to 'Two Kinds of Happiness' might sound like bad The Cure, but once the drums kick in, it's perhaps the most rhythmically enticing indie has been since Bloc Party showed up in 2005.
The first few tracks on Angles might hint at an overly joyful and cheerily chaotic record, but there's time for melancholy, anger and reflection too, such as when Julian Casablancas' signature lazy croon spurts out "I don't wanna argue!' on fourth cut, 'You're So Right', and some of the later tunes on the album, like 'Call Me Back' and closer 'Life Is Simple In The Moonlight', see the quintet rev noticeably down, with Casablancas beautifully pondering that "We talk about ourselves and how to forget the love we never felt."
Compared to Casablancas' hideous 2009 solo effort, Phrazes For The Young, Angles, although containing some of the same 80s-synth references, harks back to The Strokes' own back catalogue, with a tune such as standout track 'Taken For A Fool' that, in a pinch, could have fit on their early aughties steamroll of garage-revival.
I have always stated that I've never quite had my Strokes-period like many others have. Well, just maybe I'm having it now. Is This It was one of the absolutely most influential records of the 00
s. Angles won't have the same impact on the '10s, because these days everyone are still trying to sound like Fleet Foxes or Animal Collective, but with it, The Strokes have finally seriously upped their ante, stepped out of the shadow of their firstborn, and created the second coming of themselves with this infectious record. People have been blaming them for not being able to see the writing on the wall, comparing them to the likes of The White Stripes and LCD Soundsystem, both of whom hung up their cleats this year while the going was good, but when the going gets tough, the tough get going, and The Strokes revive themselves!
